Limits and Renewals — Rudyard Kipling

Limits and Renewals, Kipling's last collection of short stories, was written shortly after the death of his only son. Unsurprisingly therefore, many of the stories take on the themes of pain, inner suffering and mental anguish, with an on-going exploration into the level of physical and psychological torment that can be endured before a complete breakdown. Dark and penetrating in tone, these are brilliant portraits of a soul in torment with some welcome relief coming in the tales of ‘Aunt Ellen' and ‘The Miracle of Saint Jubanus'.