Rudyard Kipling admitted to plagiarism in newly discovered letter
Baku, May 29 (AZERTAC). A letter penned by novelist Rudyard Kipling appears to contain an admission he plagiarized some of his most celebrated works.
In the recently-unearthed signed letter, written in 1895, Kipling writes it is “extremely possible” he helped himself “promiscuously” to other writer’s ideas.
The letter references the 'Laws of the Jungle' which features in his most famous story "The Jungle Book", according to The Telegraph.
"I have been absent from home for some days. Hence the delay in answering yours of no date, in regard to my account of the Law of the Jungle,” the letter says.
"I am afraid that all that code in its outlines has been manufactured to meet 'the necessities of the case': though a little of it is bodily taken from (Southern) Esquimaux rules for the division of spoils.
"In fact, it is extremely possible that I have helped myself promiscuously but at present cannot remember from whose stories I have stolen.
"Very sincerely, Rudyard Kipling."
The letter is up for auction by Andrusier Autographs in the UK for $3700.
"Letters by Kipling that mention his most enduring work are extremely rare," autograph expert Adam Andrusier told The Telegraph.
Kipling, who died in 1936, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. He wrote The Jungle Book in 1894.
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