Rudyard Kipling & Armel Gaulme - The Man Who Would Be King - Artist's Edition (EN)

About The Man Who Would Be King

India, late 19th century. Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, two reckless British adventurers and friends, share the same ambition: conquer the legendary land of Kafiristan. Before setting out, they agree to a simple, but strict contract: no temptations; hence no alcohol, nor women; until they achieve their goal of the kingdom. When Dravot realises that he and fellow mercenary Carnehan will indeed be able to trick the natives into believing that they are gods, the damage is done. From that moment onwards, Dravot's obsession takes hold, possessing him, inevitably leading him to a fatal end.

Everyone knows Rudyard Kipling’s short story, if only by name, but few people realize that Dravot and Carnehan were accompanied by Armel Gaulme, a French artist who documented their journey. Unfortunately, the journals of this third man, who remained in the shadow of the other two, had been misplaced and were thought to be lost forever.  

We know very little about Armel Gaulme, the author of the journals that documented Dravot and Carnehan’s journey through Kafiristan. A few handwritten notes confirm his French nationality, but aside from a blurry photo and a few scattered references, no information about his life remains. It is by an extraordinary stroke of luck that his journals, believed lost for over a century, are back in the news today. The story of their rediscovery alone would be worthy of a novel, but suffice it to say that four generations later, it was one of the descendants of the Gaulme family who, after a search lasting nearly ten years, managed to track down the famous documents. This descendant, who—in an ironic twist of fate—is also named Armel, entrusted Caurette with the task of publishing these previously unpublished archives. More than 140 pages of drawings thus enrich and shed new light on this legendary novel.

About the edition

This version of The Man Who Would Be King is a gorgeous hardcover book containing 224 A4-pages, and brimming with more than 500 illustrations (watercolours and graphite travel sketches) all printed in their original size! Its luxury cover is in imitation leather with gold embossed ornamentation. Delicately textured fine arts paper mimics Armel Gaulme’s original sketchbook quality, and his spectacular classical 19th century illustrations beautifully complement Kipling’s story.

To wave us off on this marvelous adventure, we have Erik L'Homme's blazing introduction, himself well suited to participating in this quest, having had many adventures of his own, including several years in Pakistan, which you can read about in his book, Steps in the Snow. 

The incredible artist and Academy Award Winner Alan Lee, famous for his illustrations of J.R.R. Tolkien's worlds and his conceptual design work for Peter Jackson's film adaptations The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, wrote a splendid afterward.

About Armel Gaulme

Born in 1981, Armel Gaulme is a graduate of Penninghen/Académie Julian (Paris) and cites Alan Lee, John Howe, and European illustrators of the 1900s as his sources of inspiration. As a professional artist, he has created pre-production drawings and matte paintings, and has produced several books with various publishers. In 2014, he became obsessed with drawing and watercolor painting to illustrate Rudyard Kipling’s short story, The Man Who Would Be King.

He currently teaches drawing and illustration at the Méliès School and works extensively in his own studio.