With the possible exception of Shakespeare, no other poet has so enriched the English language with his vivid prose and verse as has Rudyard Kipling. He has been described as "the greatest democratic English poet. He versified emotions which the average mans instantly recognises with the energy and vividness of a man of genius."
This edition of his complete verse bears weighty testimony to that claim. Over 700 pages offer Danny Deever and Gunga Din, Judy O'Grady and the Colonel's Lady together with a wealth of less familiar creations, all of them possessed of the resonance that made Kipling the literary lion of the Empire, the barrack-room balladeer of "files on parade", and the unrivalled Poet Laureate of the common man.
A thoughtful and insightful foreword by MM Kaye deepens our knowledge and understanding of one of Britain's most outstanding literary craftsman.
