Jane and Sharad Keskar query why "in an age of
imperialists, Kipling should be singled out and
castigated for being a man of his time". This gives
the impression that Kipling was pretty much mainstream
in his imperialism.
May I ask whether this is the weight of expert opinion?
Was his age one of imperialists?
My impression, certainly superficial rather than expert,
is that in Britain in the years 1880-1914, there was a
very wide range of opinions about the Empire, and that
those who were as imperialist as Kipling were quite a
small minority. (My impression also is that Kipling's
position was a conscious, deliberate, one --- not
something adopted unintelligently.)
Paul Hutchinson.
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