Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Man Who Would Be King  By  cover art

The Man Who Would Be King

By: Rudyard Kipling
Narrated by: David Ian Davies
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $5.57

Buy for $5.57

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

The Man Who Would Be King is Rudyard Kipling’s literary classic from 1888 about two scrubby, jack-of-all-trade English explorers and free spirits, Daniel Dravot and Peachey Carnehan, who leave Colonized India in a quite possibly delusional quest to become kings in faraway foreign lands. Noted audiobook narrator David Ian Davies elegantly performs with refined British reserve this compelling, inspiring, and ultimately tragic story.

Listeners can also enjoy Kipling’s The Jungle Book on audiobook for another classic adventure tale.

Publisher's summary

Rudyard Kipling's tale of two scruffy adventurers, Carnehan and Dravot, determined to leave India and rule the pagan tribes of another land as kings. But their quest does not end as they had plotted, and Carnehan returns to the narrator's newspaper office two years later in rags, to recount their victories and sudden fall -- Dravot's quite literally -- from their positions of glory.
Public Domain (P)2009 One Voice Recordings

What listeners say about The Man Who Would Be King

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Man Who Would Be King

Performance: Excellent, no issues.

Content: I saw the movie and I wanted to hear the book. I was surprise on the actual story but like it anyway. I recommend this book for listening or reading.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This reading is unintelligibile

There might be other good options, but I recommend the BJ Harrison over this, hands-down. Davies' Irish and Scottish brogues are probably quite authentic, but (if so) they are TOO authentic. Most US readers will find this reading incomprehensible. The Harrison, in contrast, while very British, is more approachable.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!