The House Surgeon, Rudyard Kipling
The House Surgeon, Rudyard Kipling
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The House Surgeon

Author: Rudyard Kipling

Narrator: Cathy Dobson

Unabridged: 1 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/13/2017


Synopsis

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.

The House-Surgeon is a strange tale about a haunted house. Not that there is an actual ghost in evidence. Indeed, nobody has ever died in the house since it was originally built. But a strange all-pervading depression haunts the place intermittently which overwhelms its occupants.

When the current owner of the house tells the strange tale of the house to a fellow passenger, Mr. Perseus, on a trans-Atlantic steamer, he invites him down to the house to experience the horrible phenomenon himself. Mr. Perseus sets out to discover what lies behind this strange ghostless haunting.

About Rudyard Kipling

Short-story writer, novelist, and poet Rudyard Kipling was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature and was hailed as a literary heir to Charles Dickens. His most popular works include The Jungle Books, Kim, and "The Man Who Would Be King." Audiences love his romantic tales about the adventures of Englishmen in strange and distant parts of the world. Characteristic of Kipling is sympathy for the children's world, a satirical attitude toward pompous patriotism, and belief in the blessings and superiority of the British rule. Although he was widely regarded as Britain's unofficial poet laureate, Kipling refused the honor, as well as the Order of Merit.

Kipling was born in 1865 in British-ruled Bombay, India, where his father was an arts and crafts teacher. At age six, he was put in a London foster home, and it was here that he began writing, influenced by his pre-Raphaelite ancestors. When Kipling was thirteen, he entered United Services College, an expensive military boarding school. His poor eyesight and mediocre grades ended his hopes for a military career. These years are recalled in a lighter tone in his book Stalky & Co.

Kipling returned to India in 1882, where he worked as a journalist, an assistant editor, and an overseas correspondent. Seven years later, Kipling moved back to London and married Caroline Starr Balestier, the sister of an American publisher and writer. They moved to the United States but, dissatisfied with life in Vermont and distraught by the death of his daughter, Kipling moved his family back to England. Still restless, he poured his energy into writing and produced The Jungle Books.

During the Boer War, Kipling spent several months in South Africa. In 1901, he published Kim, which is widely considered his best novel. Kipling received the Nobel for Prize for Literature in 1907. The prestigious prize was awarded for his power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas, and remarkable talent for narration. Kipling died on January 18, 1936, in London.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Berit

A strange depression haunts the house of Mr M’Leod, and overwhelms its occupants. When the owner of the house tells the strange tale of the house to a fellow passenger, Mr. Perseus, on a trans-Atlantic steamer, he invites him down to the house to experience the horrible phenomenon himself. Mr. Perseu......more

Goodreads review by Chandan

The narration was done as if to scare the hell out of people. I am a great fan of Rudyard Kipling's books, such as Jungle book being my favourite. The supernatural story of the sister's death and the mystery around it. Although it is a lugubrious story of death and depression but an interesting port......more

A fellow passenger (Maxwell M'Leod), returning to the UK on a steamer boat, overhears the narrator, (Mr Perseus) and a small group of passengers, exchanging ghost stories. M'Leod is an expensive fur trade merchant. He decorates his house with Banares brass bowls. Mr. M'Leod relates how his house (Holm......more

Goodreads review by Aditya

Not many people know that Kipling wrote supernatural stories as well - 'The House Surgeon' is a good one to start with.......more