Set and published during the time the British Raj, a time of subalterns and tea planters, tiffin and bands playing ‘The Roast Beef of England’, the forty stories in Plain Tales From The Hills are played out under an unforgiving sun, revealing the deceit, faithlessness, shallowness, despair, mistrust, hate and petty jealousies rife amongst the British inhabitants of India. Fascinating, funny, tragic, immensely readable and witty, these stories provide an invaluable insight into life in India during the British Raj, introducing us to the work of one of the most beloved writers of the twentieth century.

‘These stories are the best account of the nature of the Victorian Raj ever written.’ Griff Rhys Jones
Jon Buchan’s essay considering race in the short story.
Image of Kipling’s writing room

'These wonderfully observed stories, woven round the lives of the Anglo-Indian community in the 1880s, expose the frailties of this quintessentially British society.'
- The Good Book Guide, August 2008.

Rudyard Kipling - Rudyard Joseph Kipling was born in Bombay in 1865. In 1982 he started work as a journalist in India, and while there produced a body of work, stories, sketches and poems – notably Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) – which made him an instant literary celebrity when he returned to England the following year. In 1901 Kim appeared and was followed in 1902 by the Just So Stories. Tales of every kind – including historical and science fiction – continued to flow from his pen, but Kim is generally thought to be his greatest long work, putting him high among the chroniclers of British expansion. He was the first English writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize, in 1907. He died in 1936 and his autobiographical Something of Myself was published the following year.

Please follow this link for more information about the life of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).



Griff Rhys Jones - Griff Rhys Jones is best known for his many television appearances, most notably Not the Nine O’Clock News, and his infamous double-act with Mel Smith. His success on stage was recognised in 1984 with his receiving the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award. In 2002 Rhys Jones was awarded an honorary degree by the University of East Anglia. His life-long enthusiasm for the writings of Rudyard Kipling led to his presenting Kipling – A Remembrance Tale for the BBC in 2006.

More information about Griff Rhys Jones' life as a writer, actor and comedian.

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