Kim

Kim by Rudyard Kipling is set against the background of the Great Game as it was called the tug-of-war between Britain and Russia for the control of Central Asia. The novel's action takes place during the Anglo-Afghan Wars of 1839-42. Kim lives an itinerant existence in 19th century India, where Imperialism is at its peak. He is the young son of poor Irish parents who are both no more. He survives by running occasional errands for a Pashtun horse-trader called Mahbub Ali in Lahore. Mahbub Ali is actually an undercover agent working for the British. Kim leaves Lahore and joins a Tibetan lama in the quest for a legendary river. Ali meets and recruits Kim to his spy ring, but Kim is rescued by an old friend of his father's and sent off to study in a good boarding school in Lucknow. He remains in touch with Ali and the Lama. Upon completing his schooling, he is recruited by the British government and enters the Great Game in earnest. The rest of the novel follows Kim's career and deals with the final choices he has to make in life.