Kipling and 'Orientalism' (Routledge Revivals) [Paperback]

First published in 1986, this book sets Kipling firmly in the historical context not only of contemporary India but of prior Anglo-Indian writers about India. Despite his enthusiastic reception in England as revealer of the East, in India he seems to have been regarded as just one more Anglo-Indian writer. The author demonstrates the traditionalism of Kiplings use of the themes of Anglo-Indian fiction  themes such as the White Mans grave, domestic instability, frustration and loneliness. In particular, Kipling is shown to be writing in a strongly conservative idiom, concentrating on the role of the British hierarchy as the determining factor in a response to India, on British insecurity and fears of a repeat of 1857 mutiny, and regarding Indian institutions only in so far as they represented a threat to British rule. Conservative critiques of liberalism are also discussed.

1. Kiplings Contexts  2. Gorgeous East versus Land of Regrets   3. A Sense of Insecurity  4. Strategic Conflicts within Orientalism   5. The Problem of Solidarity  6. Orientalism and Narrative;  Bibliography;  Index