'All paths are the same, leading nowhere. Therefore, pick a path with heart.'

Published in 1901, Kim is a compelling coming-of-age tale that presents a vivid portrait of India against the backdrop of the Great Game, a devastating conflict across Central Asia.

Kimball O'Hara, an orphan who lost both his parents to poverty, grows up as a streetwise boy in India, able to survive by begging and running errands for locals in Lahore. But Kim's life takes an unexpected turn when he befriends a wandering Tibetan lama on a spiritual quest, becoming his disciple and companion. Along the way, Kim is recruited into the British Secret Service, becoming a spy in the Great Game – the covert conflict between Britain and Russia for control in Central Asia. Blending elements of travel, mysticism and even espionage, Kim is a thrilling and wholly original work that continues to delight Rudyard's readers and beyond.

Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936) was an English novelist, poet, short story writer and journalist. During his lifetime, he became one of Britain's most popular writers, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1907.