Rottingdean: Jungle Book Author's Home For Sale

24 September 2013, 10:38 | Updated: 24 September 2013, 10:39

Writer Rudyard Kipling's seaside home in East Sussex on the market for more than £1.5 million.

The Elms, a five-bedroom detached house which lies at the heart of the village of Rottingdean, East Sussex, was home to the author of The Jungle Book between 1897 and 1902, according to the Rottingdean Preservation Society.

Kipling paid three guineas a week to rent the property and wrote classics including Stalky & Co, Kim and some of the Just So Stories while living there, a society spokesman said.

The property, which boasts three reception rooms and two bathrooms over four floors as well as views of the sea, is described by estate agents Winkworth as "a place of great historic interest'' which is "woven with the echoes of a globally renowned writer''.

According to the estate agents Kipling was acquainted with Rottingdean as his aunt, Georgiana Burne-Jones owned a holiday home in the village.

A spokesman for Winkworth said: "The Indian born, English poet, short story writer and novelist found great inspiration from this area and wrote many of his world-wide recognised works here.

"His most highly regarded creations include children's story masterpiece, The Jungle Book, and one of many successful poems, If.

"The Rottingdean Preservation Society bought the adjacent gardens in the 1980s and transformed it from an overgrown wilderness into the beautiful Kipling Gardens which has various sections within its generous two acres for members of the public to enjoy.''