With the Night Mail A Story of 2000 ..., Rudyard Kipling
With the Night Mail A Story of 2000 ..., Rudyard Kipling
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With the Night Mail: A Story of 2000 A.D.
A Yarn About the Aerial Board of Control

Author: Rudyard Kipling

Narrator: Gildart Jackson

Unabridged: 1 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/06/2018


Synopsis

Rudyard Kipling's thrilling science fiction novella With the Night Mail, follows the exploits of an intercontinental mail dirigible battling foul weather. Meanwhile, a planet-wide Aerial Board of Control enforces a rigid system of command and control in the skies and in world affairs, too.

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 Paul on November 17, 2021

Rudyard Kipling wrote many great poems about the past but here he sits at his desk in 1905 and figures what life is going to be like in the year 2000. And the future is Dirigibles! Air ships! Obviously not aeroplanes – the Wright brothers’ eccentric experiment had only taken place two years before, an......more

Goodreads review by Warren on August 13, 2022

This is a seminal and influential work of Radium-Age science fiction by an unlikely author--Rudyard Kipling, perhaps best known as the man behind "The Man Who Would Be King" and "The Jungle Book." Those familiar with Wellsian visions of world governments connected via airways crowded with dirigibles......more

Goodreads review by Judyta on February 03, 2024

Got it as an ebook out of curiosity. It's a quick read so poses very little risk of time-wasting. Apparently there's an equally short sequel to it, but I'm not going to bother as I'm not impressed with this one. There is hardly any story line, and the little detail that can be fitted into such a sho......more

Goodreads review by Trike on September 12, 2018

You can read this novella online at Project Gutenberg: [URL not allowed] The story is thinner than air, but it’s really about the worldbuilding, which is amazing. This tale features large dirigibles moving passengers and freight across the planet, the use of radios, and the sla......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on October 05, 2012

An interesting read. The faux science is detailed. In many respects typical Kipling but for me a rather superficial story in the end. I would have liked to see the ideas and the setting further explored in a more lengthy speculative work but a worthwhile read for me nevertheless. Good world building......more