Rudyard Kipling is considered to be one of the most popular English writers. He was born in Bombay and spent the first five years of his life soaking in the colonial life. He was however, sent back to England by his parents to receive a formal British education, where he had to stay with a foster family. It was a difficult time for young Kipling and he found comfort in books and stories. His ties with India however were not lost forever and returned when he was sixteen, to the familiar sights, sounds and smells that found their way into so many of his stories. He stayed with his parents in Lahore where he found work at a local newspaper. It is said that Kipling was equally accepted by his British colleagues as well as his Indian friends. He roamed the city streets collecting a collage of experiences. It was at this time that he wrote and published a collection of stories called Plain Tales from the Hills, and over the next few years wrote a number of short stories. His work gained popularity both in India, as well as back home in England where they enchanted children and adults alike. His best known work that got him the maximum popularity remains The Jungle Book. In 1907, at the age of 42, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize and its youngest recipient to date.