AuthorRudyard Kipling
NarratorSanjeev Bhaskar
Duration7h 19m
CategoriesChildren's Fiction, Classics
Key StageKS3
PublisherCSA Word
VersionAbridged
Kim is a magnificent novel, populated by a rich cast of characters - from jewelers and spies, to horse dealers, mystics and military leaders. The novel was once described by Kingsley Amis as "not only the finest story about India . . . but one of the greatest novels in the language". The action takes place in British India in the 1880s and 1890s against the backdrop of 'The Great Game', the political conflict between Russia and Britain which was played out in central Asia. In the character of Kimball O'Hara - an Irish orphan who 'burned black as any native' - Kipling juxtaposes East and West, embodied by a boy who can blend seamlessly into both worlds. At once both a gripping adventure story and a spiritual journey, Kim must navigate the swarming roads of India - that 'broad smiling river of life' - as a disciple to the Buddhist Lama Teshoo. Yet, all the while, he is being drawn into the secret life of a spy. As he comes of age, how long can Kim continue to manipulate his own fate?
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 11m
One of Rudyard Kipling's more farcical stories, this look at the strange administration of the British Raj introduces us to the eccentric inventor Mellish, and the rich and important Mellishe, both of whom desire an audience with the Viceroy of the Indian Empire. By a strange quirk of fate, the Viceroy's invitation gets sent to the inventor instead...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Edward Fox
Duration 24m
A tough-minded young administrator, 'Georgie Porgie', in a wild hard district of Upper Burma, feels the need for a woman to look after him. As was not uncommon in those times, he buys a Burmese girl for 500 rupees from her father, a village headman, and calls her 'Georgina'. She lives with him, manages his household, and loves him dearly. Unfortuna...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 18m
Two sisters, Edith and Maud, are both in love with Saumarez. They have "a strong likeness between them in look and voice", and it is only a matter of time before they are mistaken for each other by the unlucky man. This was one of Rudyard Kipling's earlier tales, and made its first appearance in 'Plain Tales From the Hills', one of his celebrated c...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 9m
This story of a love triangle in British India sees a young lady choosing between a young and handsome and an old and ugly suitor. Her Mother makes her choosing clear, but when the situation boils down to an archery competition, the result is not as might have been expected. A typically Kiplingesque study and quasi-acceptance of the strange and int...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 8m
A big drinker in India tries to reform for a woman whom he believes is worth making the transformation for. As the first woman reveals herself to be less than holy herself, the man is blind to her faults, and exalts her virtues as his savior, even after he has married a good woman. An anthropological and sociological study of Raj India and human fo...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Geoffrey Palmer
Duration 3h 27m
Here are the delightful stories which Kipling first told his own children before setting them down on paper. How the Camel got his Hump, How the Leopard got his spots, How the Elephant got his Trunk, the Butterfly that Stamped and many Others. They remain popular, entertaining every generation, partly because of the story and partly because of the...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Madhav Sharma
Duration 13h 19m
Set in the days of the British Raj, Kipling's finest novel is the exciting and touching tale of an Irish orphan-boy who has lived free in the streets of Lahore before setting out, with a Tibetan Lama, on a spiritual quest. Kim later enrols in the Indian Service and simultaneously embarks on an espionage mission of supreme importance. A thrilling cl...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 19m
A story of magic, Empire and deception in Raj India, our narrator tells of Suddhoo, a 'very, very old man' who lets out rooms in his house. All-accepting, Suddhoo gives a roof to grocers, prostitutes and other equally polar opposite professions, including a man who describes himself as a 'seal-cutter' but who actually seems to practice a career rat...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 12m
This is a story about a Worm who turned. Though the name of this story's exceedingly pretty protagonist is Henry Augustus Ramsey Fusan, the narrative refers to him as 'The Worm'. The Worm is found unhappy in this classic India-set tale, as he finds himself at odds with the shakaris regiment, a group to whom one must be able to prove himself by abil...
View Book
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Author Rudyard Kipling
Narrator Martin Jarvis
Duration 10m
The Kipling story Kidnapped was first published in the Civil and Military Gazette on March 21st 1887, in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills in 1888, and in subsequent editions of that collection.
View Book
