From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel • Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling is an author I hadn’t really noticed before, although everyone knows his most famous work. He is the author of The Jungle Book, and not only for that did the British writer, born in Bombay, receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 — to this day he remains the youngest recipient. With From Sea to Sea, a complete German translation of his travel reports written between 1887 and 1889 has been published for the first time. A beautiful tribute to mark the 150th birthday of this great author.

Without knowing any of this background, I wanted to have the book immediately when I first came across it in the autumn catalogue of the Mare Verlag. I had long wanted to read something about India — not about the here and now, but about the India of colonial times: mysterious, wild, and unexplored, with its exotic culture and beautiful landscapes. This book, in its simplicity, radiates all of that, and its appearance as part of the slipcase series is a mark of quality.

This time, unlike usual, I’ll begin not with the book’s content but with its appearance, because From Sea to Sea is one of the most beautiful books on my shelf. The Mare slipcase series has already spoiled me with its fine presentation, but this edition is a masterpiece of the bookmaker’s art. The slipcase has a white hue with a soft sepia tone, which together with the copperplate-style elephant on the cover and the serif typeface in harmonious colors immediately evokes associations with old illustrations, photographs, and writings about the beautiful India of the colonial period — a romanticized and distorted nostalgia, since colonialism was far from anything desirable.

When you slide out the thick book — bound in reddish-brown linen, about 800 pages, pleasantly heavy in the hand — your gaze first falls on the lovely little plaque that repeats the title from the slipcase. The linen shimmers slightly and feels elegant yet sturdy as you run your fingers gently over it.

Opening it, two things immediately stand out: first, it fits wonderfully in your hands (yes, I know I’m repeating myself), and second, it has grey endpapers that form a beautiful contrast to the linen cover. That may seem like a small detail, but the colors are so perfectly matched that my bibliophile heart beats faster. Why aren’t all books made with such dedication and love for detail?

In addition, this book has two ribbon bookmarks — in the colors of the cover and the endpapers. I believe it’s the only book on my shelf that has such a feature, and it’s not only beautiful but also practical. One can serve as a bookmark, while the other can stay in the glossary or among the notes.

Inside, one again finds the elephant that appears on the cover. The paper is the same as that used for other classics in the slipcase series — cream-colored, slightly thicker than usual, and very smooth when turning the pages. What can I say? This book is a celebration. Dear Mare Verlag, please found a second publishing house and reissue classics of all kinds in this format. I would love to hold great works by authors such as Tolstoy, Dumas, or Flaubert in such an edition.

After all this talk about the book’s appearance — how about its inner qualities? I’m torn about the quality of the text. The book consists of three parts: Kipling’s travels in India, Asia, and America. Kipling wrote for various editorial offices as a journalist, and in that context he composed and published these travel reports.

India and Calcutta

In the first part, his account of India, he uses a literary device borrowed from Mark Twain, describing his journey through the eyes of an Englishman — a typical globetrotter whose behavior Kipling portrays with a certain disdain and biting irony. Today we’d call him a stereotypical tourist of the time: camera around the neck, socks in sandals, and a taste for cheap souvenirs. Naturally, this tourist sees nothing of India’s true soul, while Kipling lets the reader peek behind the scenes, all the while following the Englishman as a recurring thread.

The quality of the stories varies greatly. In many places, they bring to life the beautiful, mystical India — with its reddish and grey mountain ranges, lonely provincial lakes, and splendid palace complexes. One particularly lovely episode describes a visit to the deserted palaces of Amber and Chitor, where Kipling also provides a brief and entertaining historical sketch. Other sections, however, such as his descriptions of Jaipur, I found rather dull. The account of a horse breeding farm in Jodhpur struck me as tedious and not very engaging. Anecdotes and stories about kings and common people enliven the reading experience, giving insight into Indian life and culture — for example, when he describes a boar hunt by Indian aristocrats and British colonial officers.

It took me about 50 pages to get used to Kipling’s style. Often, the magical India with its unique atmosphere appeared vividly before my mind’s eye, but at other times I struggled to picture the scenes. His depictions sometimes felt too fragmented, and by the end I still didn’t have a clear sense of what Calcutta as a whole might look like. That may also be my fault — I know little about India and have seen few photographs of it so far. That’s a gap I plan to fill, for this country certainly exerts a deep fascination.

Asia

The second part covers his travels through Asia, which also includes a map and a foreword. After his first literary successes, Kipling wanted to advance his career in England. Among his acquaintances was Mrs. Edmonia Hill, married to a professor, for whom he apparently had some affection. He accompanied the couple as they traveled to their family in California, journeying with them through Burma, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Here he assumes the role of a tourist himself, writing with a cynical tone and occasionally rather unsympathetic views. He, for example, endorses English imperialism and often looks down on the people of the countries he visits, implicitly assuming the superiority of English culture. Yet, at the same time, he is surprisingly cosmopolitan — always using the India he knows well as a benchmark for comparison.

I found these reports rather dull. There are some pleasant depictions of pagodas, elephants, and big cities such as Singapore or Hong Kong with their inhabitants, but he frequently gets lost in details — like annoying fellow passengers. Other passages feel incomplete, as if he merely selected a few notable impressions without striving for comprehensive descriptions. The places didn’t come alive in my imagination the way they did in his Indian accounts with their splendid, deserted temples. His month-long journey through Japan is described in great detail and at times I enjoyed it, but again, he often loses himself in meticulous descriptions of temples, cityscapes, and politics — more report than literature. He often comes across as distant, arrogant, and almost aggressive — reminiscent of an English aristocrat making the locals dance for his amusement.

America

His travel letters from San Francisco, on the other hand, I enjoyed very much. Here he puts his finger on the sore spots — writing about corruption, the broken democratic system, American women (whom he greatly admires), alcoholism, and society at large. He does this in an amusing way — prejudiced, yes, but less arrogantly than elsewhere. Some reports are less exciting, such as his lengthy description of salmon fishing. His visit to Yellowstone National Park, however, was again entertaining. I particularly liked the conclusion of this section, where he paints a portrait of America that still feels strikingly modern — a capitalist swamp, full of people who exploit nature ruthlessly, and a mass stupefied by a press controlled by elites.

Conclusion

The book’s design is simply perfect — crafted with great love for detail, and it shows. The content, however, didn’t completely convince me. I greatly enjoyed Kipling’s Indian journeys — his descriptions of grand, fascinating temple complexes bring the mystical and wondrous India to life. It’s easy to imagine these beautiful places and immerse oneself in a strange and unique world of nature. Some of his American travel letters are entertaining, especially his observations of people and society. His Asian journey, however, failed to capture me as much. Too often he loses himself in detail, uninteresting musings, and comes across as an unsympathetic, condescending globetrotter. Since these are travel reports, they focus strictly on what he saw and visited; there are few exciting episodes or encounters. Still, for those curious about how India, Asia, and America presented themselves at the end of the 19th century, I can certainly recommend this book.

Book Information: From Sea to Sea • Rudyard Kipling • Mare Verlag • 800 pages • ISBN 9783866481817