The holder of an honorary doctorate was no “ordinary storyteller.” Among the accolades of this member of the Royal Literary Society and foreign member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences are honorary degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and Edinburgh universities, as well as awards from the universities of Paris, Strasbourg, Toronto, and Athens. The first Englishman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature is known in seven different roles: as a prose writer, poet, children’s author, journalist, rector, traveler, and Freemason. Less is known about the personal losses suffered by a man who paid the highest price for his worldview.
The “Black Sheep”
The biography of Joseph Rudyard Kipling is filled with vivid details that provide a comprehensive understanding of his personality development. Born on December 30, 1865, in British India, Joseph Kipling was named after Rudyard Lake in England, where his parents—John Lockwood Kipling, a professor at the School of Art who taught architecture, and Alice Macdonald, whose sisters also connected their lives with artists—first met happily. One of them was the renowned poetess Louise Baldwin. The husbands of Kipling’s aunts included Edward Poynter, president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. In each of these families, artists, writers, and even a prime minister would emerge—such was the lineage of Joseph Rudyard Kipling.
Despite the fact that both his father and mother came from families of clergymen, and that his official name, Joseph Kipling, was given in honor of his grandfather in the “reverend order,” his parents chose a pagan second name for their son (Rudyard translates to “red yard”): at that time, the British began to recognize their primitive roots as an important part of their culture.
Rudyard Kipling as a child
The early years of Rudyard Kipling were filled with happiness as he explored the world in the exotic surroundings of Bombay. However, soon after, the five-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister were sent to a private boarding school in Southsea (Portsmouth, England), where they spent six years. The owners of the institution, Lorne Lodge (a former captain of the merchant fleet and his wife), inflicted psychological trauma on their charges through harsh punishments. Young Kipling developed sleep disorders there and struggled with insomnia for the rest of his life. The author later recounted this sad period in his life in the work “Me-ow, the Black Sheep.”
Choosing a Profession
Future author of “The Man Who Would Be King” could only escape the controversial methods of upbringing in his teenage years. From their home at 4 Campbell Road, his parents, who dreamed of a military career for their son, transferred 12-year-old Rudyard to Devon School, as it could serve as a stepping stone for Kipling’s admission to a military academy. The impressions of his schooling would later be shared by the graduate in his autobiographical work “Stalky & Co.”
Although his plans for a military career were thwarted by nearsightedness, the school became an important stage in his life, as it was there that he received his literary encouragement. Kipling began writing at the recommendation of the school’s headmaster: his father’s friend, Cornwell Price, encouraged the student’s interest in literature and advised him to pursue a creative path in his professional development.
Impressed by his son’s talented youthful stories, Kipling’s father helped him secure a position as a journalist at the Civil and Military Gazette. This daily publication was based in Lahore (now in Pakistan) during the time of British India, and Rudyard set off there in the fall of 1882.
Rudyard Kipling with his father John Lockwood Kipling, 1890
Studying Life
At his first job, the inexperienced author quickly sought out engaging topics and expanded his understanding of the world by studying the local social “underbelly,” which he learned about in a year as well as the police did. Kipling explored the unfamiliar lives of the common people through nighttime “expeditions” to taverns and gambling dens. The new editor-in-chief granted the novice more freedom than was possible under the previous management, allowing Rudyard to practice writing short stories. Within six months, the writer published about thirty works in the CMG from the series “Plain Tales from the Hills,” catching the attention of colleagues from other publications.
In 1887, the journalist received a more interesting job offer from the Allahabad publication The Pioneer, with which he signed a contract for… travel. Such luck was something a keen observer of life could hardly dream of: now he could write essays from various corners of the globe. After visiting Burma, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the USA, and Canada, Kipling published six books based on his collected material in 1888-89, which brought him fame. The following year, in 1890, his first novel “The Light That Failed” was released.
Having traveled with a notebook through San Francisco, Portland, New York, Boston, Chautauqua, Seattle, Beaver, Victoria, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, and Liverpool, the eager observer returned to London in awe of the beauty of Yellowstone National Park and the grandeur of Niagara Falls. During this journey, Kipling also met Mark Twain: the two writers discussed the prospects of Anglo-American literature for two hours. Soon, contemporaries would refer to the Brit as the literary heir of Charles Dickens.
Kipling in Naulakha, Vermont, USA, 1895
Also a Freemason
If we follow the chronological sequence of events in Rudyard Kipling’s life, we should pause at the beginning of his journalistic success to discuss his Masonic career. The English magazine “Masonic Illustrations” reported that Kipling was initiated into the secret society in 1885—in the same Indian Lahore where the writer began his journalistic career. This occurred even before he turned 21, the minimum age for potential membership. He was introduced to the local Masonic lodge “Hope and Perseverance” (No. 782) by an Indian Hindu, Brahmo Somaj.
The writer confirmed in the London press that for several years he served as the lodge’s secretary, which included brothers of various faiths. He himself was initiated (entered as an apprentice) by a Hindu, raised (to the degree of fellowcraft) by a Muslim, and exalted (to the degree of master) by an Englishman, while the officer position of tyler was held by an Indian Jew. This “ethnic diversity” influenced Kipling’s softened views on the “natural place” of different peoples. It is well known that the British aristocracy traditionally resonated with the theme of the superiority of English culture over others. Coming from a creative family, he saw the English colonial policy as a mission to bring progress to the corners of the planet under its control. However, it is believed that his individual Masonic experience taught the author of the poems about “the white man’s burden” to treat local cultures with greater respect.
Kipling was also a member of the French lodge “Builders of the Perfect City” (No. 12) and, as a Galophile, sought an Anglo-French alliance (his compatriots generally disapproved of the rapprochement of neighboring states). The creator of Mowgli is also known as the author of the oath text for the Engineers’ initiation. Kipling mentioned his Masonic experience in the poem “The Mother Lodge.”
The Flowers of Life
After marrying Caroline Starr Balestier, the sister of a London publisher with whom he worked on a novella, Rudyard spent the first four years (until a quarrel with his brother-in-law) with his beloved in Vermont, where his wife’s relatives lived. The newlyweds arrived there with their last savings: the writer’s funds disappeared during their honeymoon—not from entertainment during their trip to Japan, but in a bank that went bankrupt at that time. However, this turn of events only fueled Kipling’s creativity.
During this period, the writer published his celebrated philosophical tales and other works for children. In 1894 and 1895, “The Jungle Book” and “The Second Jungle Book” were released, along with poetry collections “The Seven Seas” and “White Seal.” Interestingly, in addition to short tales, Kipling wrote novellas in a similar genre long before the advent of “Harry Potter”—with Shakespearean motifs and folklore plots from old England. References to the heroes of his books (“Rewards and Fairies,” “Puck of Pook’s Hill,” where the narrative is told from the perspective of an elf) are often found in contemporary British fantasy.
The children of Rudyard Kipling
The birth of daughters Josephine and Elsie, followed by the birth of son John, inspired the writer to create new works appealing to both children and adults. In particular, in 1897, he published his adventure story featuring a 15-year-old hero, “Captains Courageous.” But just two years later, Kipling faced tragedy, losing his eldest daughter: during a family trip to the USA, Josephine died of pneumonia. And ahead lay the loss of his son…
“Why Did We Die?”
Rudyard Kipling gathered material for his next children’s book, Just So Stories, in Africa, where he also helped establish a local newspaper. “Just So Stories” was published in 1902, and the following year, the writer released one of his best novels, “Kim.” In 1907, the gifted author became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Rudyard Kipling received this highest professional recognition at the age of 42.
After that, the traveler acquired a country house in Sussex and connections with influential politicians. Starting his own political activities, the writer found less and less time for creativity, preferring political statements. As a supporter of the powerful British Empire, personally acquainted with King George V (they were friends), it was more important for him to support the Conservatives, condemn the Irish independence movement, criticize feminism, and “announce” war with Germany. The impending slaughter (World War I) seemed to the imperial conservative an extra opportunity to glorify British arms. But for the writer’s family, this war became a personal tragedy.
The estate in Sussex, now home to the Kipling Museum
The story of Kipling’s son’s death in the Battle of Loos on September 27, 1915, was depicted by contemporary British filmmakers in the television film “My Boy Jack” (which was also the title of the writer’s post-war publication). It was the father who sent 18-year-old John to war (he had been twice denied military service due to inherited nearsightedness), using his connections to get him into the Irish Guards. While working for the Red Cross during the war, the father and mother spent four years searching for John, whose body was never found. Unable to locate Kipling Jr. in this world or the next (he was also not found in captivity), the despairing parents only acknowledged their son’s death in 1919. That same year, Kipling created a poignant poetic cycle, “Epitaphs of the War,” which contains the lines: “If anyone asks why we died, tell them: because our parents lied to us.”
Rudyard Kipling with his wife Caroline
P.S. After the war, Kipling atoned for his guilt by serving on the commission responsible for the graves of unknown soldiers. The writer did not live to see World War II: he died from a perforated ulcer in 1936, having managed to remove the enduring logo featuring the Indian swastika from the covers of new books, a symbol that had become associated with Hitler.
The cover of Kipling’s 1915 book featuring the swastika, and after the symbol was removed in 1930.