11 h 50 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
On a frontier ruled by rumour, how does a secret agent know whom to trust?
At the start of the First World War, Captain Athelstan King heads to the northwest frontier of British India on secret service. His task is to uncover what lies behind dangerous rumours. In Talbot Mundy's King—of the Khyber Rifles, courage matters, but wit matters more when people hide their aims behind courtesy, religion or trade.
Then Yasmini crosses King's path. A woman of rank and cunning, she is bold, clever and hard to read. Their contest of wits reaches beyond politics, testing duty, loyalty and love. The chapters move quickly through vivid settings, while disguise and divided loyalties keep the question of trust close at hand.
What you’ll discover
- A captain who thinks Follow King as he relies on wit rather than force to pursue his secret task.
- Yasmini's difficult challenge Meet a bold woman whose hidden aims put King's judgment and loyalty to the test.
- A frontier of disguises Enter a world where courtesy can conceal purpose and rumours make certainty hard to find.
- Love against duty Discover how King's encounter with Yasmini makes his mission more than a matter of politics.
- Adventure of its time Enjoy swift chapters and vivid settings while recognising the novel's period view of empire.
Who will love it
Readers who love frontier adventure, spy stories with clever disguises, mountain passes and secret caves, and a hero who wins by wit and good humor rather than by force.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A general gives King an impossible mission
- A night train and a knife with a face
- Yasmini's house in Delhi is a trap of mirrors
- Thirty prisoners
- A night ride, a blue light and a brother's help
- A harsh mountain journey ends at Khinjan's door
- Inside the mountain King becomes a doctor
- The great cavern where Yasmini rules the crowd
- What the story is really about and how it is told
Who’s who
- Athelstan KingA captain of the Indian Secret Service who disguises himself as a native doctor to enter the Khinjan Caves and stop a holy war.
- YasminiA brilliant dancer and schemer of Delhi who rules the Khinjan Caves through charm, mystery and ambition.
- Rewa GungaA graceful Rajput dandy and Yasmini's trusted servant who guides King north with smiles, warnings and a magnificent black mare.
- IsmailA giant Afridi servant who loves King like a son but insists he belongs to Yasmini.
- Muhammad AnimA bearded, bull-necked mullah called Bull-with-a-beard who preaches jihad, takes German money and wants the caves and their ammunition.
- Charles KingAthelstan's younger brother, who commands the fort at Ali Masjid and helps with the disguise.
- Major CourtenayThe officer at Jamrud Fort who guards the mouth of the Khyber and cannot work out how Yasmini passed him.
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- Large print hardcover
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King, dei Fucilieri del Khyber
by Talbot Mundy · 1916
A captain with a gold bracelet and a stolen knife follows a legendary dancer into a cave nobody leaves.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if a general handed you the job of stopping a holy war by yourself? Captain Athelstan King of the Indian Secret Service gets that order in Peshawar, at the start of the First World War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A general gives King an impossible mission
The war has begun, and India is stripped of troops. Captain Athelstan King, who reads a surgery book at his club and says little, is called to Peshawar. A general meets him at the station in a dogcart and explains the danger. Rumors say the Heart of the Hills has come to life in the Khinjan Caves, and a jihad could pour down the Khyber Pass.
The general has one lead. Yasmini, a famous dancer said to be part Russian, claims she can enter the Caves and leave when she likes. King must work with her, learn the secret, and get a pass from her for the Caves. The general hands him a photograph and warns him that she is clever, ambitious and dangerous.
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What is King of the Khyber Rifles about?
A British Secret Service captain, Athelstan King, is sent to the northwest frontier of India at the start of the First World War. He must find out whether a holy war is brewing, working with a mysterious dancer named Yasmini.
Who is Yasmini in King of the Khyber Rifles?
Yasmini is a famed dancer of Delhi who claims she can enter the secret Khinjan Caves and leave when she likes. She is clever, ambitious and dangerous, and King must decide whether she is friend or enemy.
What are the Khinjan Caves and the Heart of the Hills?
Khinjan is a fortress village in the frontier hills, built over hidden caves from which the government's agents never return. The Heart of the Hills is the rumored force awakening there, which the government fears will start a jihad.
The author
Talbot Mundy
1879–1940 · British adventure novelist
Talbot Mundy was born William Lancaster Gribbon in London in 1879. He was a British-born writer who later lived in the United States. He wrote adventure novels and stories for magazines. His novels include Rung Ho! (1914) and King—of the Khyber Rifles (1916). He died in Florida in 1940.
More by Talbot Mundy
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