Under The Deodars

‘Colonel Bakshi burst in, looking very agitated. “Something’s happened to Mrs Basu,” he said. “She’s lying outside in a fl ower bed. I think she’s dead . . .”’ In this marvellous collection of thrilling new stories set in the Mussoorie of a bygone era, Ruskin Bond recounts the deliciously sinister cases of a murdered priest, an adulterous couple, a man who is born evil, and a body in the box-bed, not to forget the strange happenings involving arsenic in the post, strychnine in the cognac, a mysterious black dog, and the Daryaganj strangler. As the elderly Miss Ripley-Bean, her Tibetan terrier, Fluff, the hotel pianist, Mr Lobo, and the owner of the Royal, Nandu, mull over these curious incidents, the reader will be enthralled and delighted—until the very end.

Here, Kipling describes the life of Englishmen and women in the Indian Subcontinent, and explores the ugly truth of what went on beneath the appealing 'froth' of club life. Instantly rejected by many as being too harsh and too critical, it is in fact a brilliant portrait of Anglo-Indians, and their impact upon the provincial society of Simla.

Under the Deodars (published 1888) is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling.

Under the Deodars (published 1888) is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Contents The education of Otis Yeere -- At the pit's mouth -- A wayside comedy -- The hill of illusion -- A second-rate woman -- Only a subalter -- In the matter of a private -- The enlightenments of Pagett, M.P.

Limits and Renewals, Kipling's last collection of short stories, was written shortly after the death of his only son. Dark and penetrating in tone, these are brilliant portraits of a soul in torment with some welcome relief coming in the tales of 'Aunt Ellen' and 'The Miracle of Saint Jubanus'.