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Unit 9: “If” by Rudyard Kipling

But life again took a dramatic turn for the family when Kipling had a major falling out with Notes
Carrie’s brother, Beatty. The two men quarrelled, and when Kipling made noise about taking
his brother-in-law to court because of threats Beatty had made to his life, newspapers across
America broadcast the spat on their front pages.
The gentle Kipling was embarrassed by the attention, and about how his celebrity had turned
against him. As a result, he and his family left Vermont for a new life back in England.

Family Tragedy

In the winter of 1899, Carrie, who was homesick, decided that the whole family needed to
travel back to New York to see her mother. But the journey across the Atlantic was brutal, and
New York was frigid. Both Kipling and young Josephine arrived in the States gravely, ill with
pneumonia. For days, the world kept careful watch on the state of Kipling’s health as newspapers
reported on his condition. The New York Times reported a front-page story on his health.

Kipling did recover, but his beloved Josephine did not. The family waited until Kipling was
strong enough to hear the news, and even then, Carrie could not bear to break it to him,
asking his publisher, Frank Doubleday, to do so. To those who knew him, it was clear that
Kipling never recovered from her death. He vowed never to return to America.

Life in England
In 1902, the Kiplings bought a large estate in Sussex known as Bateman’s. The property had
been erected in 1634, and for the private Kiplings, it offered the kind of isolation they now
cherished. With its lush gardens and classic details, Kipling revered the new home.

“Behold us,” he wrote in November 1902, “lawful owners of a grey stone, lichened house—
A.D. 1634 over the door—beamed, paneled, with old oak staircase and all untouched and unfaked.”
Here, Kipling found some of the happiness he thought he had forever lost, following the death
of Josephine. He was dedicated as ever to his writing, something Carrie helped ensure. Adopting
the role of the head of the household, she held reporters at bay when they came calling and
was the person in the family who issued directions to both staff and children.
Kipling’s books during his years at Bateman’s included Puck of Pook’s Hill (1906), Actions and
Reactions (1909), Debts and Credits (1926), Thy Servant a Dog (1930) and Limits and Renewals (1932).
The same year he purchased Bateman’s, Kipling published his Just So Stories, which were
greeted with wide acclaim. The book itself was in part a tribute to his late daughter, for whom
Kipling had originally crafted the stories as he put her to bed.
The book’s name had in fact come from Josephine, who told her father he had to repeat each
tale as he always had, or “just so,” as Josephine often said.
As much of Europe braced for war with Germany, Kipling proved to be an ardent supporter
of the fight. In 1915, he even travelled to France to report on the war from the trenches. He
also encouraged his son John to enlist. Since Josephine’s death, Kipling and his son had grown
tremendously close. It was for John that Kipling wrote one of his famous poems, “If.”
Wanting to help his son enlist, Kipling drove John to several different military recruiters. But
plagued with the same eyesight problems his father had, John was repeatedly turned down.
Finally, Kipling made use of his connections and managed to get John enlisted with the Irish
Guard as a second lieutenant.
In October of 1915, the Kiplings received word that John had gone missing in France. The
news devastated the couple. Kipling, perhaps feeling guilty about his push to make his son

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