A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Rudyard Kipling: The Making of a Reputation Selma Ruth Wells DPhil in English Literature University of Sussex August 2012 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX SELMA RUTH WELLS DPHIL IN ENGLISH LITERATURE RUDYARD KIPLING: THE MAKING OF A REPUTATION SUMMARY When Rudyard Kipling died in January 1936, the resulting national and international mourning indicated the popularity and enormous influence of his life and work. It demonstrated the esteem in which he was still held and the consequent longevity of his literary success. This thesis examines how Kipling established, maintained and protected his reputation, his purpose in doing so and considers if concern about his own ethnic purity was a central motivation for him in this regard. This thesis explores Kipling‟s preoccupation with the reputation of the enlisted man – or „Tommy Atkins‟ figure – and his sympathy with the „underdog‟ and discusses how recuperation of this denigrated image was instrumental in establishing and increasing Kipling‟s poetic and literary success. His intimate personal relationship and fascination with the enlisted man is investigated, especially in terms of Empire and the Great War and juxtaposed with discussion of Kipling‟s numerous elite, establishment military and political connections. His post-war link to the soldier is considered, including the powerful and enduring effects of the death of his son. Exploration of Kipling‟s writing is undertaken using material from the University of Sussex Special Collections Kipling Archive, including Kipling‟s personal papers and correspondence which are referred to throughout and the six volume collection of Kipling‟s correspondence edited and published by Thomas Pinney. Additional, selective close-reading of his verse and prose illustrates arguments in the personal papers and indicates that Kipling‟s literary reputation vindicated both himself and the image of the soldier. Work from poets contemporary with Kipling is used in context, to provide comparison and contrast. In addition to the main thesis, an appendix volume is in place to offer further exploration of the primary archive material. Contents List of Figures vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Fame, Celebrity and Posterity 9 The Reputation of Kipling at His Death 9 Kipling‟s Relationship to Fame and „Celebrity‟ 25 Chapter 2: Kipling’s Early Influences 44 Family, India, Empire and Early Success 44 Inheritance, Issues of Racial Identity and Personal Reputation 59 Chapter 3: Kipling and Language 96 Linguistic Rigour in Kipling‟s Writing 96 Chapter 4: Kipling and ‘Tommy Atkins’ 120 Representing the Soldier 120 Contemporary Comparisons of Representations of the Soldier 139 Chapter 5: Kipling and the Boer War Soldier 161 Representation in The Five Nations 161 The Absent-Minded Beggar 190 Chapter 6: Kipling and the Great War Soldier 201 Depicting „Tommy Atkins‟ in the Great War 201 Chapter 7: Poet of the Bereaved 220 The „Cult of the Fallen Soldier‟: Tommy Atkins in Death 220 The Enlistment and Death of John Kipling 228 Memorialising the Soldier 255 Conclusion 272 Bibliography 276 Appendix Document Appendix Contents Material Relating to: Introduction: Appendix 1 Chapter 1: Appendices 2 -16 Chapter 2: Appendices 17 - 21 Chapter 3: Appendices 22 - 23 Chapter 5: Appendices 24 - 28 Chapter 7: Appendices 29 - 36 vii List of Figures Figure 1 and 2 Front and reverse covers of a presentation copy on padded silk, of the poem, „The Absent Minded Beggar‟ [1899] (30/38 File 30/1). Figure 3 Middle section of the padded silk book of the poem, „The Absent Minded Beggar‟ [1899] (30/38 File 30/1). Figure 4 Press notice announcing the death of Kipling‟s eldest daughter, Josephine (19/38 File 19/13 Document 9 (1) & 9 (4)). Figure 5 Letter from the Swedish Academy informing Kipling that he is to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (20/38 File 20/24). Figure 6 Cover illustration for The Story of the Gadsbys, No. 2 of the Indian Railway Library Series (3/38 File 3/5). Figure 7 Fig. 7 Cover of Quartette (30/38 File 30/17). Figure 8 Sketch of Frederic Macdonald from a box of John Lockwood Kipling drawing and illustrations (2/38 File 2/3). Figure 9 Sketch of Fakir and note by John Lockwood Kipling (2/38 File 2/1). Figure 10 Cover illustration for Soldiers Three, No. 1 of the Indian Railway Library Series (4/38 File 4/8). Figure 11 A new interpretation of the Kipling poem in the Guardian Weekly. Figure 12 Letter from Duff Cooper written in 1936 (20/38 File 20/7 Document C4). Figure 13 Title page to „The Absent Minded Beggar‟ Ad.1. Figure 14 A „gentleman in khaki ordered South‟, from „The Absent Minded Beggar‟ Ad.1. Figure 15 Image of dust jacket and title page for The Years Between (1st edition). Figure 16 Text from Brooke‟s „The Soldier‟ on an Imperial war grave. Figure 17 Jennis, G., 'Unititled' in Punch 26.06.1918 p.404. Figure 18 Bairnsfather [sic], B., "The Bystander's" More Fragments from France (London, 1916). Figure 19 Remains of a Trench System at Hill 62, Sanctuary Wood. Figure 20 The Indian Monument at Neuve Chapelle. viii Figure 21 John Kipling in „full canonicals‟– the uniform of the Irish Guards. Figures 22 and 23 Letter and transcript (14/38 Files 14/51 & 14/52 Documents Un-numbered and 25). Figure 24 Cemetery at Dud Corner and Loos Memorial to the Missing. Figure 25 Kipling‟s text from Ecclesiasticus at The Indian Monument. Figure 26 Tyne Cot Cemetery. Appendix Figures Figure 27 Kipling Trademark at the United States‟ Patent Office. Figure 28 Cover to the Kipling Archive Catalogue at the University of Sussex. Figure 29 Part of a File of Handwritten Versions of „The Gift of The Sea‟ (24/38 File 24/23). Figure 30 Part of a file of Handwritten and Illustrated Versions of „Great Heart‟ (24/38 File 24/27). Figures 31 and 32 Letter to C.L.R. Fletcher and Transcript (15/38 File 15/4 Document 15). Figure 33 Hand Noted as One Extract From the Diaries of Rider Haggard (15/38 File 15/16). Figure 34 Letter from Trix Fleming to Stanley Baldwin (1/38 File 1/120). Figure 35 and 36 A Copy of the Declaration of the Royal Charter of Incorporation of the Imperial War Graves Commission (21/38 File 21/3 Document B1). ix Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge, with much gratitude, those individuals and staff of official bodies whose assistance throughout my research and subsequent writing has enabled the completion of this thesis. Information and assistance from these agencies has provided a primary source, inspiration and support for my writing. My supervisor, Alistair Davies, has provided extensive, generous and patient support which has been invaluable, throughout this thesis. His kindness, encouragement, advice and feedback have facilitated my engagement with this project. During our supervisory meetings I have learned a great deal and his meticulous approach to both content and presentation has provided a clear framework within which to develop my writing. My joint supervisor, Lindsay Smith, gave generous and helpful early supervision which provided guidance for the initial development of this thesis. Her encouragement and advice were also instrumental in developing a framework within which to write. The primary archive material that I have used throughout my research is held in Special Collections at the University of Sussex Library. I would like to thank the staff-members of this department for their extensive, ongoing support and assistance throughout my entire year of study of the Kipling Archive Papers and at subsequent occasions of re- visiting the archive. In particular, I would like to express thanks to Fiona Courage, Special Collections Manager and Mass Observation Curator, for her initial and ongoing assistance with this project. As a member of the graduate community I would like to thank Margaret Reynolds, formerly Graduate Centre Coordinator (now retired) and Laura Vellacott, for their help and advice throughout the writing of this thesis. Thanks also go to Penny King from the Student Progress and Assessment Office, for her advice and support in the completion and submission process. I wish to thank John Stachiewicz, Head of Media and Publishing at the National Trust, who offered advice on issues of copyright and with whose kind permission I am able to make use of the Kipling Archive material in this thesis. I have endeavoured to contact all copyright holders. If I have inadvertently failed to do so, I will gladly acknowledge permission at the earliest opportunity. In addition, I wish to thank the staff of the National Trust at Kipling‟s home Bateman‟s, who offered ongoing support with this project. Final thanks go to my patient and supportive husband Paul, our children, Melanie, Lewis, Alex and Eleanor and my mother. Without their special encouragement this project would not have been completed. Their technical skills were also invaluable. I dedicate this thesis to them. 1 Introduction When Rudyard Kipling died in 1936, he had an international reputation as an author and poet – arguably greater than any other English writer of the twentieth century.