History Literature / Kim

* HoneyTrap : A prostitute secretly working for some unnamed RebelLeader tries to do this to Mahbub Ali. He is too smart for them and hides the message he is carrying before she can steal it, and recount gleefully later that he could sense how frustrated she was.

* GambitPileup : A continuous GambitPileup nicknamed ''The Great Game''. There are multitudinous players friendly and enemy and little is told about any of them.

* CanonWelding: the "Woman of Shamlegh" who gives Kim and the Lama sanctuary in her village is the central character of Kipling's early short-story ''Lispeth.'' (It's not very important to the plot, though if you've read the story you will get a whole new insight into the way she behaves around Kim, and why.)
** It also is an example of CanonDiscontinuity, as the DownerEnding to ''Lispeth'' ("in a little time, she married a woodcutter who beat her after the manner of ''paharis'', and her beauty faded soon") is ignored and as the Woman of Shamlegh she is a woman of substance who lords it over her two husbands and would not mind making Kim her third.
** Strickland, the police officer who "arrests" E23, appeared in several earlier short stories, starting with "Miss Youghal's Sais", which like "Lispeth" was collected in ''Plain Tales from the Hills''.
** Mahbub Ali(or at least a character with the same name) appears in ''Ballad of the Kings Jest''.

* CoolGun : An ancient cannon in front of the "wonder-house" at Lahore, around which the StreetUrchins play. Apparently there is a real cannon at Lahore called "Kim's Gun" for the benefit of tourists, on which Kipling based it on. According to ''The Quest For Kim'' by Peter Hopkirk this gun had a romantic history being sort of an AncestralWeapon of the armies of several Rajahs, and had gone on a number of campaigns before it had become a museum piece.

This novel is a formless one in plot and depends primarily on character and setting which is not unknown for Creator/RudyardKipling (Kipling's greatest talent was arguably in setting rather than plot). It is one of the first spy novels ever told though it was in fact something of a [[GenreBusting Genre Buster]] because its focus went beyond espionage. Interestingly it captures the feel of RealLife espionage quite well. The actual nature of given missions is seldom revealed, nor is the identity of the enemy they are facing at a given time(with the exception of a Russian expedition in TheShangriLa at the end) and at first Kim doesn't even know who his own side is; which is of course what things would be like for a real spy. One of the books strengths is its beautiful cross section of life in British India.

This novel is a formless one in plot and depends primarily on character and setting which is not unknown for Creator/RudyardKipling (Kipling's greatest talent was arguably in setting rather than plot). It is one of the first spy novels ever told though it was in fact something of a [[GenreBusting Genre Buster]] because it's focus went beyond espionage. Interestingly it captures the feel of RealLife espionage quite well. The actual nature of given missions is seldom revealed, nor is the identity of the enemy they are facing at a given time(with the exception of a Russian expedition in TheShangriLa at the end) and at first Kim doesn't even know who his own side is; which is of course what things would be like for a real spy. One of the books strengths is its beautiful cross section of life in British India.

* IndianPoliticalService: It is not actually said that Kim worked for this, and it did not [[PlausibleDeniability officially]] maintain large spy rings in India at the time. However he was doing the sort of work that it did.

This novel is a formless one in plot and depends primarily on character and setting which is not unknown for Creator/RudyardKipling (Kipling's greatest talent was arguably in setting rather than plot). It is one of the first spy novels ever told though it was in fact something of a [[GenreBusting Genre Buster]] because it's focus went beyond espionage. Interestingly it captures the feel of RealLife espionage quite well. The actual nature of given missions is seldom revealed, nor is the identity of the enemy they are facing at a given time(with the exception of a Russian expedition in ShamgriLa at the end) and at first Kim doesn't even know who his own side is; which is of course what things would be like for a real spy. One of the books strengths is its beautiful cross section of life in British India.

* ShamgriLa: Subverted. Teshoo Lama as a former abbot of a Tibetan monastery arguably comes from there, but Kipling deals with Lamaism pretty much realistically. Towards the end of the book he and Kim travel into a different part of the Himalayas (further to the West) which does not fit the "mystical place in the mountains" stereotype. There is no {{Deathtrap}} or TomeOfEldritchLore, it is simply another country. And the Lama receives his enlightenment only after he leaves the mountains and returns to the plains.

* MasterOfDisguise: Kim is pretty good at this. He can dress up in proper clothes and act like member from any caste and religion. One of the reason the Intelligence is so interested in him.

This novel is a formless one in plot and depends primarily on character and setting which is not unknown for Creator/RudyardKipling (Kipling's greatest talent was arguably in setting rather than plot). It is one of the first spy novels ever told though it was in fact something of a [[GenreBusting Genre Buster]] because it's focus went beyond espionage. Interestingly it captures the feel of RealLife espionage quite well. The actual nature of given missions is seldom revealed, nor is the identity of the enemy they are facing at a given time(with the exception of a Russian expedition in ShamgriLa at the end) and at first Kim doesn't even know who his own side is; which is of course what things would be like for a real spy. One of the books strengths is it's beautiful cross section of life in British India.

This is one of the most beloved works of Creator/RudyardKipling. The title character is a street urchin named Kimball O'Hara (called Kim throughout the novel) who has been befriended by the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Pathan]] [[IntrepidMerchant horse trader]] and spy Mahbub Ali. He wanders around the streets of the city of Lahore happily, mingling with all the many races, and occasionally running secret errands for Mahbub. He meets Teshoo Lama (usually called the Lama) who is WalkingTheEarth [[SeekerArchetype seeking enlightenment]]. Kim follows him and has adventures over a long period leading all the way to the the Himalayas, where he foils a Russian and a French agent. It is left with an open ending as Kim must decide whether to continue as the Lama's disciple or become a full time spy.

* SimSimSalibim

* SimSimSalikim

Tropes Include:

* FishOutOfWater: the reaction of some British like Reverend Bennett and Father Victor when coming to the unfamiliar environment of India. On the other hand, Colonel Creighton and members of the intelligence have [[GoingNative gone native]].

This is one of the most beloved works of Creator/RudyardKipling. The title character is a street urchin named Kimball O'Hara (called Kim throughout the novel) who has been befriended by the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Pathan]] [[IntrepidMerchant horse trader]] and spy Mahbub Ali. He wanders around the streets of the city of Lahore happily, mingling with all the many races, and occasionally running secret errands for Mahbub. He meets the Red Lama who is WalkingTheEarth [[SeekerArchetype seeking enlightenment]]. Kim follows him and has adventures over a long period leading all the way to the the Himalayas, where he foils a Russian and a French agent. It is left with an open ending as Kim must decide whether to continue as the Lama's disciple or become a full time spy.

** Strickland also appeared in several earlier short stories.

* IntergenerationalFriendship : Kim and the Lama

* MightyWhitey : Subverted in that Kim, who is of British parentage, learns a lot from his European schooling, but also from his adopted homeland and the Lama, and he feels more at home being a native rather than a "Sahib" (word used to call British in India). Kim himself puts it rather snarkily while referring to a British priest.

* BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats [=/=] AncientConspiracy: Kim's father was a freemason. Like Father Bennett, Colonel Creighton, and the author of the novel.

* ShamgriLa: Subverted. Teshoo Lama as an abbot of a Tibetan monastery arguably comes from there, but Kipling deals with Lamaism pretty much realistically. Towards the end of the book he and Kim travel into a different part of the Himalayas (further to the West) which does not fit the "mystical place in the mountains" stereotype. There is no {{Deathtrap}} or TomeOfEldritchLore, it is simply another country.

** One Sikh they met along the road said "The police of this land are thieves but at least they allow no competition."

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Kim is the pet novel of the {{CIA}} according to some.

This is one of the most beloved works of Creator/RudyardKipling. The title character is a street urchin named Kimball O'Hara (called Kim throughout the novel) who has been befriended by the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Pathan]] [[IntrepidMerchant horse trader]] and spy Mahbub Ali. He wanders around the streets of the city of Lahore happily, mingling with all the many races, and occasionally running secret errands for Mahbub. He meets the Red Lama who is WalkingTheEarth [[SeekerArchetype seeking enlightenment]]. Kim follows him and has adventures over a long period leading all the way to the Lama's original home in [[ShamgriLa the Himalayas]] where he foils some Russian agents. It is left with an open ending as Kim must decide whether to continue as the Lama's disciple or become a full time spy.

** Strickland also appears in several other short stories.

* ShamgriLa : The Red Lama comes from there and the almost-final scene takes place there. It is a bit toned down. While much of the format fits the "mystical place in the mountains" stereotype, there are no {{Deathtrap}} or TomeOfEldritchLore or the other things you expect to find there. It is simply another country.

** The keeper of the museum or "wonder house" at Lahore may have been Kipling's father who really was the curator of a museum there.

* TheChessMaster: Colonel Chreighton

* GenderBlenderName: Kim

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Isn't Kim a child street vagrant raised by a father who is a drug addicted ShellShockedVeteran? If he lived today he would be taken in by child services.

* GoingNative: Kim can effortlessly go native in any tribe in India.

* ShamgriLa : The Red Lama comes from there and the final scene takes place there. It is a bit toned down. While much of the format fits the "mystical place in the mountains" stereotype, there are no {{Deathtrap}} or TomeOfEldritchLore or the other things you expect to find there. It is simply another country.

* TheSpymaster: Colonel Chreighton

This is one of the most beloved works of Creator/RudyardKipling. The title character is a street urchin named Kimball Ohara (called Kim throughout the novel) who has been befriended by the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Pathan]] [[IntrepidMerchant horse trader]] and spy Mahbub Ali. He wanders around the streets of the city of Lahore happily, mingling with all the many races, and occasionally running secret errands for Mahbub. He meets the Red Lama who is WalkingTheEarth [[SeekerArchetype seeking enlightenment]]. Kim follows him and has adventures over a long period leading all the way to the Lama's original home in [[ShamgriLa the Himalayas]] where he foils some Russian agents. It is left with an open ending as Kim must decide whether to continue as the Lama's disciple or become a full time spy.