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Stranger than he himself knew

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From: The Spectator
Date: 19990911
Author:Hensher, Philip

RUDYARD KIPLING by Andrew Lycett Weidenfeld, L25, pp. 659

Kipling, in some ways, is a vulgar flirt. Half or more of his immense output amounts to a disappointment. Most of Kipling has an incantatory, visionary force which enchants the reader at the time, and in the disabusing light of rereading, is seen to have been held together by pounding rhythms, second-hand props and a good deal of luck. There is a quite incredible lot of rubbish in Kipling. I've often thought that his standing would now be higher if he had taken the simple decision never to try to write about children in their own ...

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