Kim Paperback -

Name: Kim (Everyman)
Price: 0.78 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: Kipling, Rudyard
ISBN: 9780460874083

by Rudyard Kipling; Trevor Royle (Editor)

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About this book

Rudyard Kipling’s Kim tells the story of Kimball “Kim” O'Hara, an imperial orphan scavenging a hand-to-mouth existence in British India during the late 1890s. The novel functions as a fictionalization of Kipling’s own Indian childhood, but it is also a strong example of the adventure stories that became especially popular in the heyday of the British Empire. Kim has been noted for its detailed portrait of the people, culture, and varied religions of India.

Kim was serialized in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901. It is ranked 34th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels and 78th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novel.”

From the rear cover

When his father and mother die he is left an orphan and grows up half Irish, half Indian. His adventures begin when a Tibetan lama enters his life and he becomes his disciple. From Lahore they wander through India, the lama in search of the cleansing river, Kim in search of his lost inheritance. As they begin their quest on the roads and railways, all India rolls by them in a tale of magical charm. And on the dangerous northern borders Kim is drawn ever more deeply into the work of the British secret service.

First Edition Identification

Doubleday, Page & Company of New York and Macmillan of London both published Rudyard Kipling’s Kim in October 1901, but the US edition was copyrighted two weeks earlier than the UK edition. Doubleday, Page & Company’s 460-page edition is bound in green ribbed cloth and has 10 illustrations. This first edition has sold for up to $500. Macmillan’s edition is bound in red cloth and has illustrations by HR Millar. Interestingly, this edition has sold for upwards of $25,000 (more than 50-times the value Doubleday, Page & Company’s).