The wombat, Kipling, and the tube of mummy

[truepenny]

A little historical research (a very little) reveals that the Incident took place in 1881, the year before Kipling returned to India. He was 16.

No grubby small boy. Sorry, papersky.

On the other hand, this does mean that the proper model for Young Kipling is Stalky & Co.: Stalky, M'Turk, and Beetle. Which is handy, as that's the only Kipling book I actually own and the only one with which I have more than a passing familiarity. (I don't know why that is, so don't even bother asking.) And a Stalky-esque Kipling could be rather fun to write, aside from being the sort of Eris-like creature who might be prone to smuggling Rossetti's wombat into Burne-Jones's garden.

The historical wombat appears to have belonged to an earlier era, since Rossetti Lamenting the Death of his Wombat is dated 1869. However, I am perfectly willing to assume that a man who would acquire a second wombat (sadly expiring almost immediately upon arrival) would not balk at going to the lengths of acquiring a third. And who can wonder that the Third Wombat is never mentioned, after its disgraceful and unchristian behavior in the garden of Edward Burne-Jones?

[ETA: and we just squeak in under the wire: Dante Gabriel Rossetti died in 1882, at the age of 56. Clearly this story was Meant To Be.]

Comments

[marith.livejournal.com]

Somebody else actually read _Stalky&Co._? Wow. My enjoyment of it was dimmed by the whole "we love our teachers, for they beat us up" ethic. The malleability of humans is astonishing.

_Kim_ was much more fun.

And you have to write the wombat story, now. The world must be informed!

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Somebody else actually read _Stalky&Co._? Wow. My enjoyment of it was dimmed by the whole "we love our teachers, for they beat us up" ethic. The malleability of humans is astonishing.

I don't think I precisely like Stalky & Co., but I have read and enjoyed it several times. It's another one of those "history is as good as sf" books. Much of it is v. squicky, tho'.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Useful tidbits of research:

- Fitzgerald reports that Kipling mentions the BJs in Something of Myself, so you might want to check that out. The only bit she quotes directly is from when he was six, so I'm skipping it here.

- "Rudyard Kipling, now at the United Services College with Crom as headmaster, spent part of every holiday at The Grange; Professor Norton's children were often left there." (p. 181)

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I own it but haven't read all of it, but lo, it hath an index.

Behold!

"And once he descended in broad daylight with a tube of Mummy Brown in his hand saying that he had discovered it was made of dead Pharoahs and we must bury it accordingly. So we all went out and helped -- according to the rites of Mizraim and Memphis I hope -- and to this day I could drive a spade to within a foot of where that tube lies."

Something of Myself Rudyard Kipling, Penguin edition, p.40.

So, Kipling was Verifiably There. He doesn't give his age, but the "we" refers to a collection of Burne-Jones cousins, so I am now seeing this scene as more E. Nesbit than Alma Tadema.

Oh, and here's a Haldane: He called William Morris "Uncle Topsy", and Uncle Topsy once sat on a rockinghorse while the children sat under the table and Morris told them the story of Burnt Njal. Also page 40, op cit.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is ridiculous.

The damn thing would practically be non-fiction, except for the wombat. ... And having to make the ends meet up with Kipling's account. I need to find Georgiana Burne-Jones's version and see if there's anything else that has to be worked in. At this point, I'd hardly be surprised to discover that Queen Victoria was there as well.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I've now read all of Something of Myself, not in a spirit of doing your research but because I've had it a while and not got around to reading it, and it was out. I am now filled with a strong but futile desire to email Kipling about sundry writing stuff.

There wasn't anything else about the wombat or the mummy. There were two cousins, one of each of the most commonly found genders. Mrs. Burne-Jones was called "Georgie" or 'Aunt Georgie" and apparently composed poetry. They were more of an influence on Kipling than one might imagine.