RUDYARD KIPLING: Creative Adventurer

It was only a few months ago that the Times Literary Supplement gave a rather dry run-down on the literary renaissance of Rudyard Kipling among the younger critics. Time magazine uttered on the same subject just a few weeks ago. What both stories ignored is the fact that Kipling never was OUT among younger readers and that a Kipling binge is one of the shared stages for those on their way to becoming constant readers. Writing about a writer is a tricky business for biographers at any age level. Mrs. Manley has done well with her subject by paying almost equal attention to the facts of Kipling's life and the growth of his skill as an author. There are many commonsensical asides about the general creative process as it worked for Kipling, as it works today. The book can serve a dual purpose as both biography and an elementary discussion of the technique of one of the great craftsmen in storytelling. Regrettably, there is fictionalized dialogue. Fortunately, there is even heavier reliance on the Kipling literature itself.