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 Cover to the hardback 1st edition | |
| Author | Talbot Mundy |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill |
Publication date | 1916 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
King of the Khyber Rifles is a novel by British writerTalbot Mundy. Captain Athelstan King is a secret agent for theBritish Raj at the beginning of the First World War. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India and by his interest intheosophy, it describes King's adventures among the (mostlyMuslim)tribes of the north with the mystical woman adventuress, princess Yasmini and the Turkishmullah Muhammed Anim. LikeGreenmantle byJohn Buchan, also first published in 1916, it deals with the possibility that Turkey might try to stir Muslims into a jihad against the British Empire.
TheKhyber Rifles was and is an actual regiment.
What was to be Mundy's third novel was originally serialised inEverybody's Magazine in nine parts from May 1916 illustrated byJoseph Clement Coll.[1] It was published in book form in November 1916.
The book gave many characters and themes to the bookThe Peshawar Lancers, including the main character, Athelstane King.
The first film adaptation wasThe Black Watch (UK titleKing of the Khyber Rifles), released in 1929 and starringVictor McLaglen andMyrna Loy. A second version,King of the Khyber Rifles (1953) featuredTyrone Power andTerry Moore. Apart from the title and the Khyber Pass setting, it has little in common with Mundy's novel. A third adaptation, to have been adapted byPhilip Kaufman and released byTriStar Pictures was planned but never made.
AClassics Illustrated comic book of Mundy's book was printed in 1953, No. 107.
King of the Khyber Rifles public domain audiobook atLibriVox
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