Dear Alastair
There is a new book, "Mark Twain & Company: Six
Literary Relations" by Leland Krauth, University of
Georgia Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8203-2540-6, $34.95, which
has been sent to me for review.
The fourth compaison of Twain and Stevenson draws
parallels between Huck Finn and David Balfour.
In the sixth comparison of Twain and Kipling, he draws
the parallel of Huck Finn and Kim. Thus a link from
Balfour to Kim could be implied, but Krauth does not
make that deduction.
In a similar way, he links Tom Sawyer and Jim Hawkins
and then Tom Sawyer and Stalky.
In general I am not overly impressed with the book,
but thought these comments might stir some debate.
Yours, David
--- Alastair Wilson <[log in to unmask]>
wrote: > The following enquiry comes from my
son-in-law, a
> former member of the Kipling Society (I'm working on
> it!), and I would be pleased to have any comments
> back to me to pass on to him, please.
> Alastair Wilson
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Roger Neill
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 2:53 PM
> Subject: Kim and Kidnapped
>
>
>
> Alastair
>
> I wonder if you could pass this along to whoever is
> the current editor of the Kipling Journal. Thanks
> Roger
>
>
> Dear Editor,
>
> Recently I ran a workshop on Kim for a local village
> reading group and in preparing for it, reading the
> start of the last chapter, Kipling writes:
>
> Up the valleys of Bushahr - the far-beholding eagles
> of the Himalayas swerve at his new blue-and-white
> gored umbrella - hurries a Bengali, once fat and
> well-looking, now lean and weather-worn.
>
> Of course, the central image comes from Stevenson's
> "Song of the Sword of Alan" in Kidnapped:
>
> O far-beholding eagles,
> Here is your meat.
>
> Reflecting on this, it occurred to me that the
> authorities whom I have seen refer to Don Quixote,
> Pickwick Papers, Huckleberry Finn andThe Tempest as
> previous guru/chela-style relationships in western
> literature. Surely Alan Breck and David Balfour's
> relationship in Kidnapped is another. One more
> connection the highland/lowland aspect and the
> journey itself.
>
> I wonder whether others have noticed this, and
> whether there are more references to Kidnapped that
> I have missed in Kim?
>
> Kipling revered Stevenson, planning to visit him in
> his island home in Samoa in 1892 and, according to
> Birkenhead: "When the news of the death of
> Stevenson.... came over the wires, he was prostrated
> with grief and unable to write a line for nearly
> three weeks"
>
> Yours sincerely
>
> Roger Neill
>
>
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