The Man Who Would Be King

The forgotten notebooks

On the road to India…

India, end of the 19th Century

Two former British servicemen, the determined and unscrupulous Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, dream of becoming Kings of Kafiristan, the legendary country where no European has set foot since Alexander the Great.

Kipling’s famous short story, illustrated by Armel Gaulme

While many readers will already be familiar with Kipling’s story, few will be aware that Dravot and Carnehan were accompanied by Armel Gaulme, a French illustrator, on their journey into Kafiristan. Gaulme’s task, it seems, was to document their adventure in a series of notebooks. However, until very recently, these notebooks were presumed lost. It is only by chance that they were rediscovered almost a century later and the etchings of this third man, who followed in the footsteps of the others, brought to light.

Caurette Editions are proud to publish this exclusive and unique testimony of a forgotten world. Through the pencil strokes of this talented artist, a wonderful world unfolds before your eyes and casts new light on this amazing adventure – as told by Rudyard Kipling.

Sadly, we know very little about Armel Gaulme, the author whose notebooks illustrated the journey into Kafiristan. A few scribbled notes suggest he was a Frenchman, but other than a blurry photograph and some scattered references, no other trace remains.
The story of the discovery of the notebooks would be worth a book in itself, but suffice to say that, generations later, one of the Gaulme family’s descendants managed to recover them after a ten year search. This descendant, who coincidentally is also called Armel Gaulme, entrusted the notebooks to Caurette Editions to publish in their original format.

“There are some illustrators you just have publish.
Armel Gaulme is clearly one.”

-JC Caurette

Characteristics :

  • Softcover

  • 208 pages, 140 illustrations

  • Black and White

  • Language: English

  • Dimensions: 15.5 x 25.5 cm

  • ISBN: 979-10-96315-73-4

  • RRP: £16.99 / €19,90

  • Release date: October 2020

Availability

Available on liberdistri.com or at the link below.

Deluxe version scheduled for 2021.

This book was created with the financial help of the Grand Est regional council and the Regional Office of Cultural Affairs Grand Est.