Kipling was 25 and already a phenomenon when

was published in London and New York in 1891. Only three of the volume's 27 tales appeared here for the first time, the others having first seen the light of day in various magazines and other collections. Almost all the tales are set in India and they testify to Kipling's vocation, to educate and thrill the British (and the Americans) with an inventory of the sounds and colours, delights and horrors, duties and passions to be experienced in the East.

The volume is subtitled “Being Stories of Mine Own People”, suggesting that Kipling was already taking himself seriously as the storyteller of a national or ethnic experience; but to judge by the contents of the tales, Kipling's “Own People” included Indians, and the book

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Citation: Kerr, Douglas. "Life's Handicap". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3939, accessed 25 November 2024.]