With a new Introduction by Cedric Watts Research Professor of English University of Sussex The diverse tales selected for this volume display the astonishing virtuosity of Rudyard Kipling's early writings A Nobel prize-winner Kipling was phenomenally productive & imaginative displaying a literary mastery of idioms technology & technical terms exotic locations & social range He gained immense popularity becoming (as these stories indicate) the knowledgeable spokesman for a wide public Later although Kipling's right-wing views increasingly incurred hostility his creativity remained formidable In this rich collection we encounter bold realism poignant nostalgia dark comedy the vividly horrific the exuberantly fanciful & the disturbingly uncanny