This volume includes 300 early poems, collected here for the first time. Readers now have the opportunity to watch the artistic development of the young writer, from his first attempt, as a thirteen-year-old, to place a poem in an American children's magazine to his emergence as a major figure on the international literary scene. These verses reveal the playful side of the young Kipling as well as his gift for parody and his commitment to passionate, personal poetry. Andrew Rutherford's lively commentary links the verses to the issues, events, and personalities of the day. A major contribution to the study of his work, Early Verse is also a delightful addition to any Kipling library.