The Man Who Would Be King
Readers rate it 3.4 (26 on Hardcover)
79 pages · Released Apr 1, 2005 · Melville House
Content report card
The Man Who Would Be King parent’s guide: what’s inside
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
What it offers
A note for parents
This classic novella is an adventure story about two men attempting to establish a kingdom in Afghanistan, featuring imperial themes and political critique. While it contains some violence, crude language typical of its characters, and the serious consequences of imperial ambition, it is primarily a work of historical fiction and literary merit. The story's complexity, mature themes about power and colonialism, and occasional violence make it better suited for older teens than younger readers, though it remains a celebrated work of English literature without graphic content.
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From the publisher
"My gord, Carnehan," says Daniel, "This is a tremenjus business, and we've got the whole country as far as it's worth having." Literature’s most famous adventure story, this stirring tale of two happy-go-lucky British ne’re-do-wells trying to carve out their own kingdom in the remote mountains of Afghanistan has also p... "My gord, Carnehan," says Daniel, "This is a tremenjus business, and we've got the whole country as far as it's worth having." Literature’s most famous adventure story, this stirring tale of two happy-go-lucky British ne’re-do-wells trying to carve out their own kingdom in the remote mountains of Afghanistan has also proved over time to be a work of penetrating and lasting political insight—amidst its raucous humor and swashbuckling bravado is a devastatingly astute dissection of imperialism and its heroic pretensions. Written when he was only 22 years old, the tale also features some of Rudyard Kipling’s most crystalline prose, and one of the most beautifully rendered, spectacularly exotic settings he ever used. Best of all, it features two of his most unforgettable characters, the ultra-vivid Cockneys Peachy Carnahan and Daniel Dravot, who impart to the story its ultimate, astonishing twist: it is both a tragedy and a triumph. The Art of The Novella Series Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognized by academics and publishers. Nonetheless, it is a form beloved and practiced by literature's greatest writers. In the Art Of The Novella series, Melville House celebrates this renegade art form and its practitioners with titles that are, in many instances, presented in book form for the first time.
Shelved under
- Fiction
- Classics
- Fantasy
- Young Adult
- Adventure
- Afghanistan
- Kings and rulers
- British
- Afghanistan, fiction
- British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author)
- Fiction, historical, general
- English literature
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ISBN 9780976140702 · Melville House