Rudyard Kipling
(1865–1936)
When Rudyard Kipling wrote "Rikki-tikki-tavi," he drew on his memories of India, where he was born. Kipling was six when his parents sent him to school in England. He returned to India in 1882 and became a journalist. He soon began to write sketches, short stories, and light verse.
In 1886 his first book, a collection of poems called Departmental Ditties, appeared. Between 1887 and 1889 he produced six volumes of short stories. When he returned to England in 1889, he was already considered one of the great writers of his day.
Kipling’s short stories, novels, and poems have delighted readers of all ages. Some of his best-known works of fiction are The Light That Failed, The Jungle Books, Captains Courageous, and Kim. Among his most popular poems are "If," "The Ballad of East and West," and "Danny Deever." Several of Kipling’s works have been made into movies. In 1907 he became the first English writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature.
