The Eyes of Asia

Rudyard Kipling

ISBN 10: 1911271059 / ISBN 13: 9781911271055

Editore: Kashi House, 2017

Codice articolo 6666-GRD-9781911271055

Riassunto:

The touching stories in The Eyes of Asia are narrated through a series of imagined letters penned by four Indian Army soldiers in the blood-drenched battlefields of war-torn Europe and Africa, and makeshift hospitals on England's coastline, to their loved ones back home in the relative peace of rural British India and the North-West Frontier Province.
Kipling brings the experiences of these uneducated Sikh, Hindu and Muslim military men to life, weaving the horrors of a foreign war like no other with acts of kindness arising from cultural encounters with French farmers and British military personnel.
Through unofficial access to translations of scores of intercepted Indian Army letters, Kipling gained an intimate understanding of the plight and humanity of men neglected in Western literature after the War. To Kipling, they were unsung heroes whose sacrifices had made a decisive impact on the British war effort.

A long neglected work by one of the most widely read writers on India. Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Just So Stories and Kim are perennially popular. Introduced with an essay by best-selling biographer of Kipling and renowned historian of the British Raj and its Indian Army, Charles Allen. Kipling takes the reader on a remarkable journey of discovery into the heart and soul of four Indian soldiers who fought for King and empire in the First World War. The Eyes of Asia – Kipling’s last work on India – provides a fresh perspective on the world’s first truly global conflict. The first book ever published to describe the compelling personal experiences of the common Indian soldier in the Great War. This fascinating collection of fictional letters based on a secret military reports tells the story of how four Indian soldiers confronted the horrors of the Great War.

Informazioni sull'autore:

Regarded as Regarded as 'One of the most consistently enjoyable writers on India' (William Dalrymple), Charles Allen is a historian, broadcaster and author of 24 books on the Indian subcontinent.

He has a recorded family association with India that goes back to 1857 and has written bestsellers including his first work, 'Plain Tales from the Raj' (1975), and 'Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling' (2007). He recently featured in the BBC documentary film 'Kipling's Indian Adventure', which reassessed Kipling's life and adventures in Lahore and their impact on his literature. His most recently published book is 'The Prisoner of Kathmandu: Brian Hodgson in Nepal 1820-43' (2015).

Dati bibliografici

Titolo: The Eyes of Asia
Casa editrice: Kashi House
Data di pubblicazione: 2017
Legatura: paperback
Condizione: New