Biography of Kipling briefly. Rudyard Kipling: interesting facts from life Kipling's portrait in good quality

Really talented person must be talented in everything. Confirmation of these words - Joseph Rudyard Kipling. The biography of this person, in particular, the fact of receiving the Nobel Prize at the age of forty-two is evidence of this. The writer, poet and writer loved people and nature, was interested in everything, read a lot. He was courageous, always took a clear social and political position. He believed that there is a "noble fear" that should be shared by all people - for the fate of another person. Being British by upbringing, he always considered India, whose language he knew, his second home.

What works made Kipling famous?

As you know, British poetry is one of the richest in talents in the world: George Gordon Byron, William Shakespeare, Matthew Arnold. Therefore, the choice of the English public for the attempt of the famous BBC radio station to name their favorite poems is indicative. The primacy (and by a significant margin!) belonged to Kipling's Commandments. However, he is no less known as a prose writer. Kipling's work is multifaceted. The most significant among his works are the novel "Kim" and the collection of short stories "The Jungle Book".

Picturesque lines of this writer. Indeed, The Jungle Book can rightly be called prose in verse. So our classics Turgenev and Gogol wrote, but, of course, about Russia. A mosaic of 15 Jungle Book stories consists of a story about Mowgli that combines 8 of them, and other stories about endowed with human features about the brave mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, about a cat that walks on its own. The story of Kipling's boy Mowgli, raised by a pack of wolves, of his confrontation with the cruel tiger Sherkhan has been repeatedly displayed in cartoons and is familiar to all children.

Writer's childhood

Kipling became famous for his stories about India. His biography begins in Bombay, where he was born in 1936. In India passed his country he knew and loved. The strongest, most vivid childhood impressions of the son of the rector of the Bombay School of Art are connected with the magical stories of the Indian nanny about animals (the boy understood and spoke Hindi well).

At the age of six he was sent to England, to a private boarding school - Kipling's biography testifies. For children accustomed to a free colonial life, it was often difficult to get used to the boarding drill. He was not a pet for the hostess of the boarding house. Memories of injustice and cruelty that the writer faced in his youth, he later presented in the novel Black Sheep.

Youth

At first, the father believed that young Kipling should become an officer. The biography shows that at the age of thirteen he was admitted to the Devon School (in fact, an analogue of our Suvorov), which is a kind of springboard for future officers who want to enter famous military academies. Boyish "graters", bruises and "mini-battles" with badass classmates - all this had to go through in the men's team before being recognized as "one's own". Joseph loved the school and the service. About this period of his life tells the collection of stories "Stalki and Co." There he showed his talent as a writer. At the same time, weak eyesight left no hope for military career. Father recalled 17-year-old young man to India, where a position was found for him in the Civil and Military Gazette.

Getting Started as a Writer

It is from the journalistic path that R. Kipling's stories originate. His collection "Departmental Notes" is a success. The aspiring writer is fluent in the Hindustani language, he is close to the Indian reader, he is understood and loved. The 34-year-old writer, already famous in Britain, comes to London to "make a name for himself". Here, in collaboration with the American publisher Walcott Beilsteer, Kipling is working on the story "Naulakhka". Biography, a brief chronology of his life during this period is the most interesting. He found a true friend and also fell in love with his sister. However, their joint work did not last long. After his partner's death from typhus, he marries his sister Caroline. He writes his famous poems "Gunga Din" and "Mandals".

Vermont creative period

The young couple moved to where the two-volume "The Jungle Book" and the collection of poems "Seven Seas" are being published. Here, happy parents had two daughters, then a son. Kipling's best novel is being created - "Kim" about a ragged Indian boy who learned Buddhist wisdom and became a British intelligence officer. After a quarrel with his wife's relatives, the thirty-three-year-old writer and his family move to New York. Here he and his daughter fall ill with pneumonia, after which the girl dies.

Moving to Britain

For several months he works for a South African newspaper, then buys a private house in England, in Sussex. He is actively involved in political life, supporting the conservatives. Recognition comes to him: the Nobel Prize, honorary degrees from British and European universities. But again, a heavy loss awaits the writer. At the front of the First World War, his son dies. The writer and his wife devote all their time to helping people in the Red Cross. He hardly writes, so great is the grief. However, Kipling soon finds a friend who managed to "shake him" and awaken him to life. They became ... the English king (Kipling was unusually friendly with this man until the end of his days.) The biography of the writer testifies how he immortalized the memory of his son, at the age of fifty-eight, writing the story “The Irish Guards during great war". The life of this writer was not easy, creative triumphs, unfortunately, were often accompanied by the loss of loved ones. The gastritis that tormented him developed into a peptic ulcer. He died of internal bleeding and was buried in

Conclusion

Kipling's work is multifaceted. We know him because of the bright and magical children's stories of The Jungle Book. However, there is another side to his works. called him "the English Balzac". The novel "Kim" is rightfully considered the best work about India on English language. Kipling was respected and respected by adults, this was especially evident during the First World War. Our classic Konstantin Simonov noted Kipling's "masculine style", his "soldier's severity", "masculinity".

Indeed, could an unmanly person say that a man should not be “stopped” and “penetrated into the soul” by triumphs and failures, that he must always treat them “detached”.

Born December 30, 1865 in Bombay (India). Father, a major specialist in the history of Indian art, was the director of the museum; mother came from a well-known London family; both grandfathers were Methodist ministers. At the age of six, the boy was sent to England in the care of a Calvinist family. In 1882, sixteen-year-old Rudyard returned to India and got a job as an assistant editor in a Lahore newspaper. In 1886 he published a book of poems, Departmental Songs. It was followed by Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) - concise, often crude stories about the life of British India. In 1887 Kipling moved to the Pioneer newspaper in Allahabad. His best stories appeared in India, in cheap editions, and were later collected in the books "Three Soldiers" and "Wee-Willie-Winky", containing pictures of the life of the British army in India.

In 1889 Kipling traveled all over the world writing travel notes. In October he arrived in London and almost immediately became a celebrity. The following year was Kipling's year of glory. Starting with "The Ballad of East and West", he went to a new style of English versification, creating "Songs of the Barracks".

With the release of Kipling's first novel, The Light Out (1890), there are some bibliographical difficulties, since it appeared in two versions - one with a happy ending, the other with a tragic one. Due to overwork, the writer's health deteriorated, and he spent most of 1891 traveling around America and the British dominions. Returning in January 1892, he married the sister of the American publisher W. Balestier, with whom he wrote the unsuccessful novel Naulanka (1892).

While on their honeymoon in Japan, a banking collapse left them penniless and they settled in the Balestiers' home in Brattleboro, Vermont. During the four years he lived in America, Kipling wrote his best works. These are the stories included in the collections "Mass of Fiction" (1893) and "Works of the Day" (1898), poems about ships, about the sea and pioneer sailors, collected in the book "Seven Seas" (1896), and two "Jungle Books" (1894–1895). In 1896 he wrote the book The Brave Mariners. The Kiplings' life in New England ended in a ridiculous quarrel with their brother-in-law, and in 1896 they returned to England. On the advice of doctors, the writer spent the winters in South Africa, where he became close to the ideologists of colonialism A. Milner, L. S. Jameson and S. Rhodes. He was a war correspondent during the Boer War 1899-1902.

At the pinnacle of fame and fortune, Kipling avoided publicity, ignored hostile criticism, and refused the title of poet laureate and many honors. In 1902 he settled in a remote village in Sussex. In 1901 Kipling published Kim, his parting word to India, and in 1902 the delightful children's book Fairy Tales.

By the middle of the writer's life, his literary style had changed, now he wrote slowly, prudently, carefully checking what was written. The two books of historical stories, Pak from Puca Hill (1906) and Rewards and Fairies (1910), are characterized by a higher emotional structure, some of the poems reach the level of pure poetry. Kipling continued to write stories collected in Paths and Discoveries (1904), Action and Reaction (1909), Creatures of All Kinds (1917), Debit and Credit (1926), Restriction and Renewal ( 1932). In the 1920s, Kipling's popularity waned. The writer endured the death of his son in the First World War and persistent illnesses stoically. Kipling died in London on January 18, 1936.

On December 30, 1865, Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, who in 1907 became the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rudyard Kipling became widely known for his fairy tales and stories about life in the Indian colony: "Kim", "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and everyone's favorite "The Jungle Book". Interesting facts about Rudyard Kipling and his most famous book - The Jungle Book.

Many often argue about the place of birth Rudyard Kipling. He was born December 30, 1865 in Bombay, British India. early years, full of exotic sights and sounds of India, were very happy for the future writer. But at the age of 5, his parents sent him and his sister to study in England. Kipling had many negative memories of these years, as the mistress of a private boarding house, Madame Rosa, often used physical punishment on children, which is why Joseph Rudyard suffered from insomnia until the end of his life. Later, the writer said that he would gladly burn the house of the Holloways (the owners of the boarding house) and sprinkle salt on the ashes.

Kipling was named after Rudyard Lake, near which his parents got engaged. And if they had a daughter, they planned to name the baby Margaret MacDonald Kipling.

Like many British colonists born in India, Kipling felt at home only there, but not in Britain and not in the USA.

His father, John Lockwood Kipling, was a professor of architectural sculpture at the Bombay School of Art. He was also an excellent designer of ceramic sculpture.

Rudyard Kipling in childhood

Speaking of English literature, it is assumed that Joseph Rudyard Kipling is the most popular author. He also became the first Briton to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907. By the way, he became the youngest contender for this award.

Surprisingly, but Kipling rejected many prestigious awards from his country, including knighthood. But he was very proud when he was appointed honorary rector of St. Andrew's University.

Rudyard Kipling takes office as rector

Beyond stories Rudyard Kipling also published several collections of poetry, including Departmental Songs (1886), Seven Seas (1896), Five Nations (1903) and other works.

Kipling considered to be a very propagandistic author. Throughout his career, he promoted the ideas of British imperialism in every possible way. And, ironically, at first this position brought him huge success, but it was she who became the reason for the decline in popularity. Kipling. He has been called the "barracks poet", the "bard of imperialism", and the "literary bully". Although, in reality, each of his works was very far from being called at least to some extent racist.

He had a personal grudge against the Nazis due to the fact that they stole their symbolism from the ancient peoples. Few people know, but on many books Rudyard Kiplig, which were published before 1935, featured a swastika on the cover, a symbol of good luck in India.

In last years life Rudyard Kipling lived so secluded that in one of the newspapers there was a message about his death. To this the writer replied immediately: “Just found out that I’m dead,” wrote in response Kipling. Please don't forget to remove me from your followers list.

At Kipling was a famous relative - Stanley Baldwin the Conservative Prime Minister of Great Britain in the 1920s and 1930s.

Only one of his novels, "Kim", is considered a recognized literary masterpiece.

Kipling I used only black ink. In this regard, there was an opinion that the writer was inspired only by ink made from black volcanic glass. But most likely such a fundamental choice was associated with poor eyesight. Joseph Rudyard Kipling He just couldn't see any other color on the white paper.

Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, took many of the names and principles of his organization from The Jungle Book. Kipling.

Kipling wrote a sequel to The Jungle Book that is often overlooked. In 1895, a collection of short stories, The Second Jungle Book, was published. It included five stories involving Mowgli, as well as three unrelated stories about children who work with animals to overcome difficulties.

First publication of The Jungle Book

In 2010, a self-signed edition of The Jungle Book was found. Rudyard Kipling for his daughter. The entry reads: “This book belongs to Josephine Kipling, for whom it was written by her father. May, 1884". Unfortunately, for five years, beloved daughter Kipling died of illness. The writer also lost his son in the war.

A tragic fate befell the son of the writer Jack. He disappeared without a trace during the First World War. Although he did not have to go to war, as he suffered from myopia. But Caroline's wife once expressed their common opinion: "Why should the son of our friends or neighbors die in order for our own son to live?" So they lobbied for their son to be accepted into the Irish Guards. In 2007, the film "My Boy Jack" was released, which talked about the relationship Kipling with son.

January 24, 2012, Random House Inc. released a graphic adaptation of The Jungle Book written by Dan Johnson and illustrated by Amit Tayal.

Voldemort's snake, Nagini, got its name in honor of the heroine of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", the Indian cobra Nag or Nagini.

The mother wolf claims that the name Mowgli means frog in translation, but there is not a single known language in which such a word would exist.

At Kipling in The Jungle Book, the character of the Panther Bagheera was male, but since "panther" is a feminine word, the translators decided to transform this hero. By the way, the same story happened with the work "The Cat Who Walked By Herself" - in the original version main character was a cat.

The Walt Disney Company has created four adaptations of The Jungle Book: a cartoon that was released in 1967 and its sequel, which was released in 2003, as well as two films: 1994 and years.

Rudyard Kipling in recent years

Today it is very difficult to say who is the most popular British writer, since this country has given the world many geniuses. AND Rudyard Kipling, certainly one of the first on their list. He presented the reader with magnificent stories about a completely new, different world, where a person lives in harmony with nature. In every line of my stories Rudyard Kipling invested his own feelings towards India, which is why his books are timeless.

Famous English writer Rudyard Kipling is more familiar to us as a children's author who told the story of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves. Many of us read The Jungle Book as children. However, Kipling was a controversial figure, and he did not limit himself to stories for children. It is known that the writer had a difficult fate: difficult experiences in childhood, then the early death of his daughter and son. However, Kipling is still a controversial figure because of his support for British imperialism. His poem "The White Man's Burden" has become a symbol of Eurocentric racism. At the same time, Kipling became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. So, let's find out some details from his life.

The boy was named after Lake Rudyard in England

Near this lake, the parents of the future writer met. Born December 30, 1865 in Bombay, British India, Rudyard was the first child of John Lockwood Kipling and his wife Alice. His father was a school teacher, taught art, and he was also a curator of museums in India. Rudyard had a younger sister named Trix. The early years that passed in exotic India were very happy for the future writer.

He described the horrific years of his childhood in his short story "Byaa, yaa, Black Sheep"

After spending his early years in Bombay, the 5-year-old Rudyard was sent to England with his sister, Trix, where they lived with a foster family in Southsea for the next 6 years. The private boarding house Lorne Lodge was run by a married couple. They mistreated children, often punishing them unfairly. This affected the boy so much that Rudyard suffered from insomnia for the rest of his life. Kipling later described the horrors of his time in foster care in his 1888 semi-autobiographical short story "Bah, blah, Black Sheep."

While working as a journalist in India, Kipling began writing poetry and fairy tales. In 1886, he published his first cycle, "Departmental ditties", and in 1888, his first collection of short stories, "Simple Tales from the Mountains", was published. India clearly inspired the writer, most of the works were written by him in this exotic place. In 1889, Kipling left India and went to live in London.

Kipling married Caroline Balestier, the sister of an American publisher.

In London, Rudyard Kipling met Walcott Balestier, an American writer and publisher. They became friends and began to work together. Kipling later married his sister. The couple moved to the United States and settled in Vermont. The couple had three children: two daughters and a son.

Kipling was the highest paid writer in the world

By 1890, Kipling was recognized as one of the most brilliant writers of his day, and his reputation continued to grow with the publication of works such as The Jungle Book and Kim. By 1897, Rudyard Kipling was not only one of the most famous authors, but also the highest paid writer in the world.

Two of his three children died at an early age.

Daughter Josephine died of pneumonia while still a child. Kipling was devastated by the tragedy. But soon he lost his son. During World War I, Kipling's son John wanted to join the British military, but was rejected due to poor eyesight. Rudyard used his connections to get the young man taken into the Irish Guards as a second lieutenant. John Kipling was killed in action at the age of 18, and Rudyard mourned the loss of his second child.

George Orwell called Kipling a "prophet of British imperialism"

His poem "The White Man's Burden" justifies imperialism by presenting it as a noble enterprise. This work by Kipling has become a symbol of Eurocentric racism. Kipling also spoke out against Irish nationalism and wrote that before the arrival of the English in 1169, the Irish were a band of brigands living in the wilderness and killing each other. The famous English writer George Orwell did not share Kipling's views, calling the writer a "prophet of British imperialism."

(Joseph Rudyard Kipling) - English writer, poet and short story writer.

His the best works considered "The Jungle Book" (The Jungle Book), "Kim" (Kim), as well as numerous poems. In 1907, Kipling became the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. In the same year, he receives awards from the universities of Paris, Strasbourg, Athens and Toronto; also awarded honorary degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Durham Universities.

The rich language of Kipling's works, full of metaphors, has made a great contribution to the treasury of the English language.

Biography

Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay (India) in the family of a professor at the local art school, John Lockwood Kipling and Alice (MacDonald) Kipling. He received the name Rudyard, it is believed, in honor of the English lake Rudyard, where his parents met. The early years, full of exotic sights and sounds of India, were very happy for the future writer. But at the age of 5, together with his sister, he goes to study in England. For 6 years he lived in a private boarding house, the owner of which (Madame Rosa) mistreated him and punished him. This attitude affected him so much that he suffered from insomnia for the rest of his life.

At the age of 12, his parents enroll him in a private Devon school so that he can later enter a prestigious military academy. The director of the school was Cormell Price, a friend of Rudhyar's father. It was he who began to encourage the boy's love of literature. Myopia did not allow Kipling to choose a military career, and the school did not give diplomas for admission to other universities. Impressed by the stories written at the school, his father finds him a job as a journalist in the editorial office of the Civil and Military Gazette, published in Lahore (India, now Pakistan).

In October 1882, Kipling returned to India and took up the work of a journalist. In his spare time he writes short stories and poems, which are then published by the newspaper along with the reports. The work of a reporter helps him to better understand the various aspects of the colonial life of the country. The first sales of his works begin in 1883.

The Age of Travel

In the mid-1980s, Kipling began to travel around Asia and the United States as a correspondent for the Allahabad newspaper Pioner, with whom he contracted to write travel essays. Sales of his works begin to grow sharply, in 1888 and 1889 6 books with his stories are published, which brought him recognition.

In 1889 he makes a long journey to England, then visits Burma, China, Japan. He travels all over the USA, crosses the Atlantic Ocean and settles in London. He is beginning to be called the literary heir of Charles Dickens. In 1890, his first novella, The Light That Failed, was published. The most famous poem of that time is "The Ballad of East and West" (The Ballad of East and West), as well as "The Last Song of Honest Thomas" (The Last Rhime of True Thomas).

Writer's career

In London, he meets a young American publisher, Walcott Beilsteer, and they work together on the story The Naulahka. In 1892 Bailsteer dies of typhus, and shortly thereafter Kipling marries his sister Caroline. During the honeymoon, the bank in which Kipling had savings went bankrupt. The couple only had money left to get to Vermont (USA), where Balestier's relatives lived. They live here for the next four years.

At this time, the writer again begins to write for children; in 1894-95, the famous The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book were published. The poetry collections The Seven Seas and The white tnesis have also been published. Two children are born soon: Josephine and Elsie. After a quarrel with his brother-in-law, Kipling and his wife returned to England in 1896. In 1897, the story Captains Courageous was published. In 1899, during a visit to the United States, his eldest daughter Josephine died of pneumonia, which was a huge blow to the writer.

In 1899, he spends several months in South Africa, where he meets Cecil Rhodes, the symbol of British imperialism. In 1901, the novel "Kim" (Kim) was published, which is considered one of the best novels writer. In Africa, he begins to select material for a new children's book, which is published in 1902 under the title Just So Stories.

In the same year, he buys a country house in Sussex (England), where he remains until the end of his life. Here he writes his famous books Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies, tales of Old England, united by the narrator - the elf Puck, taken from Shakespeare's plays. Simultaneously with literary activity, Kipling begins active political activity. He writes about the impending war with Germany, speaks in support of conservatives and against feminism. In 1907 he became the first Englishman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Time of the First World War

Literary activity is becoming less and less saturated. Another blow for the writer was the death of his eldest son John in the First World War in 1915. Kipling worked with his wife during the war for the Red Cross. After the war, he becomes a member of the War Graves Commission. It was he who chose the biblical phrase "Their names will live forever" on the obelisks of memory. During one trip to France in 1922, he met English king George V, with whom a great friendship later develops.

Last days of a writer

Kipling continued his literary activity until the early 30s, although success accompanied him less and less. Since 1915, the writer suffered from gastritis, which later turned out to be an ulcer. Rudyard Kipling died of a craniocerebral hemorrhage on January 18, 1936 in London, only 3 days earlier than George V. He was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.