My Book of National Trust Drawings

I don't want to give too much away because I'll only spoil the surprise but here is a drawing of Bateman's, East Sussex. Bateman's was the home of author and master of children's books Rudyard Kipling. The 'Jungle Book' (1894) is one of his most famous stories and was inspired by Kiplings immense adoration for India having been born in Bombay where his father was in the army. My drawing is complte with monkeys trawling the roof enjoying a bit of reading time, the decoration and patterns are taken from Indian textiles.

Kipling had a difficult childhood; he was sent back to England with his 3 yr old sister as a young boy to school and suffered asbuse at the hands of his guardians, the Holloway's, a couple living in Southsea, Portsmouth. Kipling wrote of his horrid experiences during this turbulent time, acknowleding that the ill treatment and neglect he received enabled him to escape into an imaginative world, giving him a creative mind that would enchant many for years to come.