Introduction

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= Kim_(novel) =
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Introduction
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'Kim' is a picaresque novel by English author Rudyard Kipling. It was
first published serially in 'McClure's Magazine' from December 1900 to
October 1901 as well as in 'Cassell's Magazine' from January to
November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co.
Ltd in October 1901. The novel is notable for its detailed portrait of
the people, culture, and varied religions of India: "The book presents
a vivid picture of India, its teeming populations, religions, and
superstitions, and the life of the bazaars and the road." The story
unfolds against the backdrop of the Great Game, the political conflict
between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. The novel popularized the
phrase and idea of the Great Game.

Synopsis
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The story is set after the Second Anglo-Afghan War (which ended in
1881), and before the Third (1919), probably in the period of 1893 to
1898.

Kim (Kimball O'Hara) is the orphaned son of an Irish soldier (Kimball
O'Hara Sr., a former colour sergeant) and an Irish mother. Living a
vagabond existence in India under British rule in the late 19th
century, Kim lives by begging and running small errands on the streets
of Lahore. He occasionally works for Mahbub Ali, a Pashtun horse
trader who is one of the native operatives of the British secret
service. Kim is so tanned and immersed in the local culture that few
realise he is white.

Kim befriends an aged Tibetan lama on a quest to free himself from the
Wheel of Things by finding the legendary "River of the Arrow". Kim
becomes his 'chela' (disciple) and accompanies him on his journey,
initially walking along the Grand Trunk Road. On the way, Kim learns
about the Great Game and is recruited by Mahbub Ali to carry a message
to the head of the British Secret Service in Umballa.

Kim encounters and recognises his father's regiment on the march.
Curious, he sneaks in when the soldiers camp for the night. He is
caught and mistaken for a thief, but the regimental chaplain
identifies Kim by his Masonic certificate, which is sewn into an
amulet that he wears around his neck. Upon learning of Kim's
connection to the regiment, the lama insists that the boy comply with
the chaplain's plan to send him to an English school in Lucknow. The
lama, a former abbot, pays for Kim's education.

Throughout his years at school, Kim remains in contact with the holy
man he has come to love. He is also trained in espionage (to be a
surveyor) while on vacation from school by Lurgan Sahib, a sort of
benevolent Fagin, at his jewellery shop in Simla. As part of his
training, Kim is given brief looks at a tray full of mixed objects and
notes which have been added or taken away, a pastime still called
Kim's Game, also called the Jewel Game. Other parts of this training
are disguise and the careful study of the Indian population, and the
characteristic dress, behaviour and "even how they spit" in order to
go undercover or to uncover those in disguise. He also accompanies
Mahbub Ali on one school break; when he proves apt at spying on and
evaluating how to capture the city of Bikanir, Mahbub Ali persuades
his superior, a skeptical Colonel Creighton, that the boy is ready.

After three years of schooling, Kim begins to take part in the Great
Game, joining the Secret Service at 20 rupees a month. Kim rejoins the
lama and at the behest of Kim's superior, Hurree Chunder Mookherjee,
they make a trip to the Himalayas so they can try to find out what a
couple of Russian intelligence agents, one Russian and one Frenchman,
are doing there. Kim obtains maps, papers and other important items
from the Russian agents, who are working to undermine British control
of the region. Mookherjee persuades the Russian agents to hire him as
a guide. When the Russian strikes the lama in the face, Kim attacks
the man, then flees when shot at, while the outraged porters abandon
the party and take the lama away to safety.

The lama realises that he has gone astray. His search for the River of
the Arrow should be taking place in the plains, not in the mountains,
and he orders the porters to take them back. Here Kim and the lama are
nursed back to health after their arduous journey. Kim delivers the
Russian documents to Hurree, and a concerned Mahbub Ali comes to check
on Kim.

The lama becomes convinced he has found his river and will achieve
Enlightenment, and wants to share it with Kim.

Characters
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*Kimball "Kim" O'Hara - an orphan son of an Irish soldier, the
protagonist; "A poor white, the poorest of the poor"
*Kimball O'Hara Sr. - Kim's father
*Teshoo Lama - a Tibetan lama, the former abbot of the Such-zen
monastery in the western Himalayas, on a spiritual journey
*Mahbub Ali - a Ghilzai Pashtun horse trader and spy for the British
*Colonel Creighton - a British Army officer, ethnologist, and spy
*Lurgan Sahib - a Simla gem trader and spy
*Hurree Chunder Mookherjee (Hurree Babu, also the Babu) - a Bengali
intelligence operative working for the British; Kim's direct superior
*Reverend Arthur Bennett - the Church of England chaplain of the
Mavericks, the fictional Irish regiment to which Kim's father belonged
*Father Victor - the Roman Catholic chaplain of the Mavericks
*Huneefa - a sorceress who performs a devil invocation ritual to
protect Kim
*E23 - a hunted spy for the British, whom Kim helps by effectively
disguising him

Critical assessment
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Considered by many to be Kipling's masterpiece, opinion is varied
about its consideration as children's literature or not. Roger Sale,
in his history of children's literature, concludes "'Kim' is the
apotheosis of the Victorian cult of childhood, but it shines now as
bright as ever, long after the Empire's collapse..."

About a reissue of the novel in 1959 by Macmillan, the reviewer writes
"'Kim' is a book worked at three levels. It is a tale of
adventure...It is the drama of a boy having entirely his boy's own
way...and it is the mystical exegesis of this pattern of behaviour..."
This reviewer concludes "'Kim' will endure because it is a beginning
like all masterly ends..."

Nirad C. Chaudhuri considered it the best story (in English) about
India - noting Kipling's appreciation of the ecological force of "the
twin setting of the mountains and the plain...an unbreakable
articulation between the Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic plain".

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked 'Kim' No. 78 on its list of the 100
best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, the book
was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved
novel".

Adaptations
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* An MGM film adaptation of the novel, directed by Victor Saville and
produced by Leon Gordon, was released in 1950. It was adapted by Helen
Deutsch and Leon Gordon, and starred Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, Paul
Lukas, Robert Douglas, Thomas Gomez, and Cecil Kellaway.
* In 1960, a one-hour color adaptation of 'Kim' was televised as part
of NBC's series 'Shirley Temple's Storybook'. Tony Haig portrayed Kim,
Michael Rennie played Captain Creighton, and Alan Napier played
Colonel Devlin.
* A London Films television film version of 'Kim' was made in 1984. It
was directed by John Davies and starred Peter O'Toole, Bryan Brown,
John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover and Ravi Sheth as Kim.
* The 2016 computer game 'Kim' adapted the book.

Homages to and works inspired by ''Kim''
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* The first part of Robert A. Heinlein's 1957 novel 'Citizen of the
Galaxy' depicts a clever boy of mysterious parentage living in a
feudal planet and guided by an interstellar spy. Peopled with fakirs,
street vendors and wealthy elites, the beginning of the novel
parallels 'Kim' in many ways.
*Paul Scott's four-novel sequence 'The Raj Quartet' (1966-1975)
contains a subplot that mirrors 'Kim': an Indian boy is sent to
England by his wealthy father to be raised in such a manner that when
he returns, Englishmen will not be able to tell that he is Indian.
* Poul Anderson's 1985 'Game of Empire', the last of his Dominic
Flandry series, is loosely modeled on 'Kim'. Like others in the
series, the novel takes place in a future galactic empire setting.
* Timeri N. Murari's 'The Imperial Agent' (1988) and 'The Last
Victory' (1989) are sequels to 'Kim'.
* Tim Powers' 2001 novel 'Declare' uses 'Kim' for inspiration and
epigraphs.
* In Laurie R. King's 2004 novel 'The Game' (book 7 of the Mary
Russell series), the protagonist and her husband, Sherlock Holmes,
travel to India in search of Kimball O'Hara, who Holmes has
encountered after the events of "The Final Problem".
* Steven Gould's 2011 novel '7th Sigma' is based on the novel. Gould's
work features a young boy (named Kim) who is raised by a martial arts
teacher and becomes involved in intelligence work. Quotes from 'Kim'
are used as chapter headers.
* Stephen Alter's 2025 novel 'The Greatest Game' is written as a
sequel to Kipling's 'Kim', and is periodised a few months before and a
few months after India's Independence on August 15, 1947.

Tributes
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The town of Kim, Colorado, is named in honour of the book.

British spy and defector Kim Philby was born Harold Philby in Ambala,
then in British India. His father, a member of the Indian Civil
Service, gave him the nickname "Kim" on account of his fraternisation
with the servants.

Editions
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The Sussex edition is standard for Kipling's works. Noted critical
editions include:
* Kipling, Rudyard. 'Kim' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987). With an
introduction and notes by Edward Said.
* Kipling, Rudyard, 'Kim', (New York: W. W. Norton & Company,
2002). A modern edition with extensive notes, essays, maps and
references.

Critical works
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* Benedetti, Amedeo, 'Il Kim di Kipling'. In: "LG Argomenti", Genova,
Erga, a. XLIII (2007), n. 4, pp. 17-21.
* Hopkirk, Peter, 'Quest for Kim: in Search of Kipling's Great Game'
(London: John Murray, 1996). The author visits the locations of the
novel and discusses the real-life personages that may have possibly
inspired its characters.
* Wilson, Angus, 'The Strange Ride of Rudyard Kipling: His Life and
Works', (New York, The Viking Press: 1977).

External links
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Sources
*
*[https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3Akim%20creator%3Akipling%20-contributor%3Agutenberg%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts
'Kim'] available at Internet Archive (scanned books, illustrated)
* (plain text and HTML)
*
Criticism
*[http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/kipling.html "'Kim',
by Rudyard Kipling"], by Ian Mackean. Literary analysis.
*Kerr, Douglas.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4239 'Kim'].
'The Literary Encyclopedia'. 21 March 2002. Accessed 19 May 2008.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071201150842/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4021/is_200301/ai_n9192133
"Artist of empire: Kipling and Kim"], 'The Hudson Review', Winter 2003
by Clara Clairborne Park.
*[http://www.enotes.com/kim 'Kim': Study Guide"], from eNotes
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/rkipling.htm 'Kim'],
reviewed in 'The Atlantic', 1901.
*[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9904E1DB1130E132A2575BC2A96F9C946097D6CF&scp=1&sq=Rudyard+Kipling%27s+Fascinating+Story+of+India.&st=p
'Kim'; Rudyard Kipling's Fascinating Story of India], reviewed in 'The
New York Times', 1901.
*[https://vocal.media/bookclub/book-review-kim-by-rudyard-kipling
Caleb Foster's review of 'Kim by Rudyard Kipling']
Other
*[https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216903854998833792591.00050002e927d53359522&msa=0&dg=feature
Kim travels] (interactive map of geographic locations mentioned in
novel)

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_(novel)