My Kumaon: Uncollected Writings

Hunter, naturalist, and conservationist, Jim Corbett is famous for slaying man-eating tigers and leopards in the Kumaon region of northern India. Frequently appealed to by the government of the United Provinces during the 1920s and the 1930s for help, Corbett is known to have shot nineteen tigers and fourteen leopards-all man-eaters. Corbett was encouraged to write about his hunting experiences by Roy E. Hawkins, manager of the Indian Branch of the Oxford University Press and a personal friend.

An integral part of OUP India’s centenary celebrations, this volume includes Jim Corbett’s unpublished writings on man-eaters, nature, and his beloved Kumaon, personal letters, articles written for newspapers and gazettes by his contemporaries, and letters exchanged between Corbett and his publisher showcasing the development of his bestselling books-all from the archives of the Oxford University Press. It highlights Corbett’s engagement with the times in which he lived, his complete empathy with the people of Kumaon, his great understanding of tigers and leopards, and also the gradual development of his ideas about conservation and the need to preserve the tiger and its habitat. Chronicling the history of his bestselling books (Man-Eaters of Kumaon, The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, and My India) and supported by rare photographs and evocative line drawings, this volume reflects the evolution of his writing as well as his long relationship with the Press.