Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

  • The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories

  • By: Rudyard Kipling
  • Narrated by: Fred Williams
  • Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories

By: Rudyard Kipling
Narrated by: Fred Williams
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

This collection brings together 17 of Kipling's early stories, written between 1885 and 1888, when Kipling was working as a journalist in India. "The Man Who Would Be King" is the story of two British vagabonds who set off to establish a small kingdom among primitive tribesmen in Afghanistan. Only one of the men returns, and his condition is so bad that the newspaperman-narrator barely recognizes him. Other stories include: "The Phantom Rickshaw", "Baa Baa, Black Sheep", "At the Pit's Mouth", "A Wayside Comedy", "Gemini", "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes", "At 22", and "With the Main Guard".
(P)1996 Blackstone Audio Inc.
Classics Fiction Short Stories Royalty King
Show More Show Less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Short Stories by Rudyard Kipling cover art
Plain Tales from the Hills cover art
The Phantom Rickshaw cover art
Beau Geste cover art
When the Lion Feeds cover art
Marie cover art
Meditations cover art
Somme cover art
Nostromo cover art
The Silmarillion cover art
Riders of the Purple Sage cover art
The Jungle cover art
A Town Like Alice cover art
The Power of One cover art
Wuthering Heights cover art
Baa Baa Black Sheep cover art

What listeners say about The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Peter

Not for me....

The narrator is appaling. There is no distinction between the characters voices; they are all bland, unbroken, monotone which blend into each other. Sometimes the narrator does not take breath or pause between characters speech, leading to total confusion. To be fair, there are two styles of voice - one the "terribly plumby English" and the other is an "It ain't half hot, Mum" Indian accent. (For those who remember the 1970's sitcom!)

His staggered, emotionless style is also most off-putting. I enjoyed a couple of the stories from the first section but left the second half to rest in peace. Didn't even get to "The Man Who...". Most disappointed. I would go so far to say I would avoid a book read by the same narrator. If he can do this to Kipling, I don't think many other authors stand a chance...

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Lisa

Terrible narration

Fred Williams renders these exciting and wonderous stories in such an unbearably monotonous voice that I couldn't bring myself to get past the first chapter. A shocking bad read.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful