The Man Who Would Be King: Large Print

By: Rudyard Kipling

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Synopsis: Swashbuckling British adventurers find triumph and tragedy in nineteenth-century Afghanistan in this novella J. M. Barrie called &“the most audacious thing in fiction.&” While on tour in India, a British journalist encounters Daniel Dravot and Peachey Carnehan, two foolhardy drifters with a plan. Claiming they&’ve exhausted all the schemes and odd jobs they could find in India, the two are in search of an even greater adventure. They tell the journalist they&’re venturing to nearby Kafiristan—modern-day Afghanistan—to depose a weak ruler and establish themselves as kings. With a cache of the best rifles and knowledge of Masonic rituals that will baffle the native tribesmen, Daniel and Peachey don&’t see how they can fail. But they may have underestimated the locals . . . Inspired by tales of real-life explorers, Rudyard Kipling wrote The Man Who Would Be King when he was only twenty-two years old. Featuring vivid prose, exotic settings, and unforgettable characters, this dissection of the heroic pretensions of imperialism and colonialism is a swashbuckling tale for the ages, and served as inspiration for the 1975 John Huston film starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine.