Kipling's poignant Jungle Book memory...

A rare first edition of Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book' has been discovered. Found in National Trust's Wimpole Hall, whilst cataloguing their collection of over 10,000 books, this edition has been labelled as 'very special'.Yet what marks this particular copy out, is the handwritten note to young daughter Josephine, who died at the age of six. The inscription reads: 'This book belongs to Josephine Kipling for whom it was written by her father, May 1894'. The book will now be on display at Wimpole Hall, which was the residence of Kipling's eldest daughter Elsie.

Success from beyond the grave...

Yesterday, saw author Neil Gaiman continue his huge success with new novel 'The Graveyard Book'. Already having won America's Newbery Medal, Locus Young Adult Award and Hugo Best Novel Prize, Gaiman was awarded the Booktrust Teenage Prize at a ceremony in London; and further achievement may be just around the corner, owing to his nomination for both the Carnegie Medal and World Fantasy Award. Citing both Ruyard Kipling and P.L. Travers, of 'The Jungle Books' and 'Mary Poppins' fame respectively, as inspirations, Gaiman said that he was both 'thrilled and surprised' by receiving the award, whose £2,500 prize money he will spend on 'cool art'. The judges said of Gaiman's novel that it 'won the hearts of all the judges, young and old...the writing is gentle, fluid and humorous, and fundamentally uplifting'. Gaiman's next work is set to be a 'part-fiction, part-non-fiction travelogue and real life history', set in China.

Inspirations of Balklava...

This day also saw the 1854 Crimean War battle in Balaklava, during which 250 men were killed or wounded and 400 horses were lost. When Alfred Lord Tennyson read a report of the incident, in The Times five weeks later, he wrote 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' , most famous for the lines: 'Theirs not to make reply/Theirs not to reason why/Theirs but to do and die'. Yet his interest in the Balaklavan soldiers did not stop there; some years later, a charity drive was undertaken to provide money to the surviors, many of whom were destitute. Tennyson wrote 'The Charge of the Heavy Brigade' to galvanise support, but much of the money raised was given by the politicians to other causes. This prompted Rudyard Kipling to write 'The Last of the Light Brigade', to reveal the scandal to the public.