– by Valerie Green –
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down and talk with some interesting characters from Greater Victoria’s past? If so, wonder no more. Although these conversations are merely creative figments of my imagination, they are all based on fact.
Not many people realize that Rudyard Kipling visited both Vancouver and Victoria in his travels around the world. He was especially impressed with Victoria and wrote many complimentary remarks about our city. Today, an apartment in Oak Bay is named for him.
Mr. Kipling, we are honoured to have you back in Victoria. As this is your third visit, are you perhaps considering moving here?
I admit I love this city. I was first here in June of 1889 and then again in April, 1892. But moving here? Not likely …
Where were you born?
I was born in Bombay in 1865. My father was a Professor at the Bombay School of Art.
Is it true that you and your sister were sent to England in 1870 and placed in a foster home where you were mistreated?
Somewhat true (he avoided any details). When my mother returned to England in 1876 she removed us from the foster home and I was sent to a private boarding school. I returned to India in 1882 and acquired a job as assistant editor on an English paper called The Civil and Military Gazette. I also began to publish some of my own writings.
When did you leave India to return to England?
I returned in 1889 and lived in London. In 1892 I married Carolyn Balestier, an American lady. We then moved to the U.S. and settled in Vermont.
In the next few years you had many books published I believe?
Yes, The Jungle Book in 1894 and The Second Jungle Book the following year. Then in 1896 The Seven Seas and Soldier Tales. We returned to England in 1897 and settled in the countryside where Captain Courageous was published.
You were very prolific and have seen many parts of the world but readers of this column will be most interested in your impressions of Victoria and Vancouver Island.
I am frequently accused of being too outspoken on a number of issues, so it is good to know my opinions of Victoria have been well received. I have recently composed a short poem about my stay at the Oak Bay Hotel and I described Victoria this way: “To realize Victoria you must take all that the eye admires most in Bournemouth, Torquay, the Isle of Wight, the Happy Valley of Hong-Kong, the Doon, Sorrento, and Camps Bay: add reminiscences of the Thousand Islands, and arrange the whole round the Bay of Naples, with some Himalayas for the background … ”
A perfect description. I am glad you will take happy memories of our city home with you.
Rudyard Kipling continued to travel and to publish more books, poems and short stories before his death in 1936. He received numerous honorary degrees and awards including, in 1926, the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature. At his funeral, his pallbearers included a prime minister, an admiral and a general. He lies buried in Westminster Abbey in London.
Valerie Green is an author and historian and can be reached at valgee@shaw.ca.
