Keeping with Kipling

The graduate class I'm enrolled in now about the publishing industry is one of the most darn enjoyable I've ever taken, for several reasons -- not least among which is that there's only ONE major assignment due over the course of the entire semester. I can certainly get by alright with that kind of workload! The assignment in question is to thoroughly research an already-published "children's book," and then try to re-pitch it to a modern 2016 audience as if it never existed. Having just read them for the first time over winter break, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Books were the first thing that sprang to mind, and so I've been spending a fair bit of time with Mowgli and company over the past few weeks.

In my best impersonation of a 60 Minutes investigator, therefore, I took advantage of this week's February school vacation to make the scenic drive up to Brattleboro, Vermont, to visit Kipling's residence there. I can happily report: for anyone with even a passing interest in Kipling and his works, or those familiar with the addictively-catchy 1967 Disney cartoon, or even those history buffs among you fascinated by Victorian culture, this place is an absolute MUST to check out.

History lesson time: Kipling, an Indian-born English writer, moved to Vermont during the first year of his marriage while awaiting the birth of his first child. There, he constructed his dream estate: Naulakha, a Hindi word meaning "priceless gem." Everything about Naulakha was designed for comfort and privacy; it's a long, narrow house, only wide enough to fit one room and a staircase across, with all the rooms stacked longwise and facing outward on the slope of a hill to catch the light (and, more importantly, the views), elevated an entire floor off the ground to keep away from curious eyes.

Everything about Naulakha today is EXACT to how it was during Kipling's ownership: the furniture, the room layouts, the floorboards, even the piping has survived intact over the last century, making Naulakha a sort of time capsule into privileged life from the 1890s. Even cooler, it functions today as an honest-to-God resort house -- seriously, you and seven friends can rent it out and spend a night eating on Kipling's table, sleeping in his bed, & showering in his bathtub (I'm struck all of a sudden by how some things sound much creepier on the page than they do in my head). It's a pretty penny, absolutely, but I still think it's kinda cool to have such free use of a historical literary site in this day and age.
And speaking of literary history...

Kipling's actual study, the original work space where he cranked out each of those works listed on the plaque above, remains intact, and just that one solitary room made the entire drive up to Vermont more than worth it.

My personal version of heaven looks an awful lot similar to this, if I had to guess.

The resemblance is uncanny, no?

Also, they had hats. Very cool hats.

Kipling would sit at this very desk every single day from 9am-1pm and just write, write, write. So, just to conveniently sum up, that's
Andrew's dream spot:✓
Andrew's dream job:✓

There are several artifacts like this scattered around the estate, testifying to the happy outcome of those writing sessions

I've never felt such an urge to smoke a pipe in my entire life

One anecdote in particular pricked up my ears during an already-fascinating tour: while at Naulakha, the Kiplings hosted all sorts of international dignitaries and members of the writing elite. Frequent among these was a dear friend of Rudyard's from England -- a certain Scottish medical doctor who dabbled from time to time in "charlatan" mystery stories, by the name of Arthur Conan Doyle. Now THAT'S a writing club I wouldn't have minded getting in on...
Doyle, a consummate Scottish sportsman, brought several of his favorite pastimes across the pond with him during these visits, and so Naulakha boasts the first tennis court in the state of Vermont. Doyle even strong-armed Kipling into a few rounds of golf on the nearby snowy hillsides (with red-painted golf balls for visibility purposes), thus their official status in the Professional Golfers' Association as the inventors of "winter golf" in the United States. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "the game is on!"

Speaking of those snowy hillsides, the grounds surrounding Naulakha are pretty breathtaking. Amidst sprawling fields that offer views of the Green Mountain foothills, the Kiplings planted their own tree corridor and made some pseudo-Grecian ruins for decoration.

"Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful!' and sitting in the shade." 

“Otherwise, he would be far away in the jungle; tasting, touching, seeing, and feeling new things.”

And finally, the other Lord of the Jungle (and the ace photographer behind all these shots), taking in some new ideas for a home expansion project

An absolutely unforgettable outing, of the stuff lit. buffs like me only dream of! Happy readings!