The Jungle Book page proofs given to Cambridge University Library

Page proofs of The Jungle Book allocated to Cambridge University Library. Credit: PA
Page proofs of The Jungle Book allocated to Cambridge University Library. Credit: PA

Page proofs of The Jungle Book have been given to Cambridge University Library, where they join the manuscript of Rudyard Kipling's poem which he donated himself.

The proofs are part of a collection which arrived at the library from the estate of the late Rosemary Watt, with its contents originally associated with Victorian literary agent AP Watt and his son AS Watt.

They were allocated to Cambridge University Library as part of HM Government's Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

The collection features several volumes of Kipling's proofs, including Rewards and Fairies and Puck of Pook's Hill.

Kipling's views on colonialism and the Empire have led to a much more critical reinterpretation of his life and work in the 21st century.

In 1907, he became the first English-language writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The collection also includes an array of manuscripts by once famed writers from the 1870s to the 1920s, such as novelist Sir Walter Besant co-founder and chairman of the Society of Authors.

The proofs from The Jungle Book are part of a collection that came to the library from the estate of the late Rosemary Watt. Credit: PA

Sir Chris Bryant, arts minister, said: "The Jungle Book is a family classic that has spawned countless other works, including the famous Disney 1967 cartoon film and the 2016 film.

"Now that these proofs will be available at Cambridge University Library, I’m sure they will provide more than the bare necessities for academics, aspiring novelists and self-confessed bookworms.

"Through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, Cambridge University Library will have the opportunity to showcase and contextualise these works so that members of the public can be educated, inspired and entertained by them for years to come."

John Wells, senior archivist at Cambridge University Library, said: "Taken together, the treasures found in the AP Watt collection are an exceptional accumulation of manuscripts and proofs of commercial prose from an era widely regarded as the heyday of the popular novel in this country.

"While Kipling’s legacy has been scrutinised more closely over recent years, there is little argument about his presence and place in the UK’s literary history or the enduring popularity of many of his works."

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