Ruskin Bond's first novel, The Room on the Roof, written when he was seventeen, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas (including Vagrants in the Valley, A Flight of Pigeons and Delhi Is Not Far), essays, poems and children's books, many of which have been published by Penguin India. He has also written over 500 short stories and articles that have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 1999.
Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, and grew up in Jamnagar, Dehradun, Delhi and Shimla. As a young man, he spent four years in the Channel Islands and London. He returned to India in 1955 and has never left the country since. He now lives in Landour, Mussoorie, with his adopted family.
Rusty travels abroad to fulfil his dream of becoming a writer Rusty Goes to London is the fourth book in Puffin's new series of the complete escapades of Rusty; this is the first time that all the Rusty stories are available in chronological order. In his early twenties now, Rusty finally severs ties with Dehra and books a passage to England, with the dream of writing and selling his novel abroad. First in his aunt's house in Jersey, and then in rented lodgings in London, he works as a clerk by day and writes away in the evenings. Eventually the novel is finished and Rusty even finds a publisher. But this, he discovers, does not mean that his book will see the light of day soon ... While in London, Rusty has myriad adventures, each more incredible than the last. Strolling down Baker Street, he runs into Sherlock Holmes, who gives him a few lessons in investigative techniques. At the Victoria and Albert Museum, he is accosted by Rudyard Kipling. And then, of course, there is the strange incident at the Chinese quarter, the Calypso Christmas in his lodgings, and the story of the Vietnamese girl Vu-Phuong. After three years abroad, however, Rusty realizes that he wants to make India his permanent home; all he really needs is a room of his own to live and write in, as the vibrant world that he has known and loved all along unfolds outside. Returning to Dehra, he renews some acquaintances and makes a few new ones, and settles into his role as full-time author. Full of interesting stories and memorable characters, Rusty Goes to London is a book that will delight all of Ruskin Bond's young fans.
