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In Our Time: Culture

Rudyard Kipling

In Our Time: Culture

BBC

History

4.6978 Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2014

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Rudyard Kipling. Born in Bombay in 1865, Kipling has been described as the poet of Empire, celebrated for fictional works including Kim and The Jungle Book. Today his poem 'If--' remains one of the best known in the English language. Kipling was amongst the first writers in English to develop the short story as a literary form in its own right, and was the first British recipient of a Nobel Prize for Literature. A literary celebrity of the Edwardian era, Kipling's work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission played a major role in Britain's cultural response to the First World War.

Contributors:

Howard Booth, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Manchester

Daniel Karlin, Winterstoke Professor of English Literature at the University of Bristol

Jan Montefiore, Professor of Twentieth Century English Literature at the University of Kent

Producer: Luke Mulhall.

Transcript

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0:00.0

You don't need us to tell you there's a general election coming.

0:04.6

So what does it mean for you?

0:06.4

Every day on newscast we dissect the big talking points,

0:10.1

the ones that you want to know more about.

0:12.3

With our book of contacts, we talk directly to the people you want to hear from.

0:16.8

And with help from some of the best BBC journalists,

0:19.4

we'll untangle the stories that matter to you.

0:23.0

Join me, Laura Kunsberg, Adam Fleming, Chris Mason and Patty O'Connell for our daily

0:28.3

podcast.

0:29.3

Newscast, listen on BBC Sounds. Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time.

0:35.0

For more details about in our time and for our terms of use please go to BBC.co.

0:40.0

UK slash radio4.

0:42.0

I hope you enjoy the program.

0:44.0

Hello in March 1890 the Times published an editorial praising the work of a 24 year old

0:50.2

author.

0:51.2

Quote India has given us an abundance of soldiers and administrators, it said, but she

0:56.2

seldom given us a writer.

0:58.2

There's no question, however, that she's done so.

1:01.3

She's done this in the person of the author of the numerous short stories and verses

1:05.1

of which we give the titles below.

1:07.7

They were talking about Roger Kipling.

1:09.3

In his early 20s, already a prolific and celebrated literary figure. He's best known for his children's

...

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