Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet. In 1917 he was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kipling was born in Bombay, British India. Many of his works have an Indian flavor and setting. His best known works are The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), and Just So Stories (1902). The Story of the Gadsbys is written in dramatic form and consists of eight stories presented as short scenes. The stories are Poor Dear Mamma, The World Without, The Tents of Kedar, With Any Amazement, The Garden of Eden, Fatima, The Valley of the Shadow, and The Swelling of Jordan.