Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks by Rudyard Kipling

London: Published by Macmillan and Co., 1897

With illustrations by I.W. Taber.  First English Edition, published approximately one month after the American edition.  Two pages of undated advertisements at rear. Bound in the original blue cloth, with pictorial gilt decoration, all edges gilt.  This handsome volume is the fourth and final work to be bound in Macmillan's distinctive gilt-decorated style previously used for The Jungle Books (1894-95) and Soldier Tales (1896).

Kipling's classic novel of the Gloucester, Massachusetts cod fishing fleet, written during his Vermont residency, draws heavily on the experiences of Dr. James Conland of Brattleboro.  Conland, who delivered the Kiplings' eldest daughter, was a former fisherman and accompanied Kipling on explorations of Boston and Gloucester's waterfronts. While the American edition is dedicated to Conland, this English edition omits the dedication. Notably, Captains Courageous is Kipling's only novel set entirely in America, featuring exclusively American characters.  The narrative explores themes of hard work and man's struggle against nature, reflecting a distinctly American (and perhaps particularly New England) ethos, famously encapsulated by Kipling's later verse: "If you don't work you will die!"  The novel's detailed depiction of American life and its echoes of Huckleberry Finn contribute significantly to its enduring appeal.

This near-fine copy exhibits only minor signs of wear, including slight fading to the spine, gentle rubbing at the extremities, and light foxing. The original black-coated endpapers remain intact and uncracked.  Captains Courageous was adapted into a celebrated 1937 film starring Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy (who won an Academy Award), Lionel Barrymore, and Mickey Rooney.  (Richards A103; Stewart 163)