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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
You will enjoy this book if you like spy tales, disguises and quick-witted heroes, or if you are curious about the old northwest frontier and the mysterious woman at the center of the plot.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A quiet captain faces a crisis
- An attacker becomes a useful clue
- A bracelet turns prisoners into followers
- A healer replaces the captain
- The cavern reveals competing powers
- Loyalty survives through repeated choices
- Understanding matters more than intimidation
- Objects and disguises connect the story
- Patience keeps King in the game
Who’s who
- Athelstan KingA calm British captain of the secret service, seventh of his family in India, who wants to prevent a holy war and keep the frontier safe.
- YasminiA dancer and spy of Russian and Indian blood, famed throughout the hills, who plays a dangerous game of her own in the Khinjan Caves.
- Rewa GungaA graceful Rajput dandy and Yasmini's trusted servant, who guides King north and seems to guess his every thought.
- IsmailA huge, bearded Afridi who becomes King's servant at Yasmini's order, loves him like a son and swears he is hers alone.
- Muhammad AnimThe mullah called Bull-with-a-beard, a fierce preacher who gathers a lashkar with foreign gold and wants Khinjan and the jihad for himself.
- Major CourtenayThe commander at Jamrud Fort, loyal to his two hundred native soldiers, who envies King's freedom and wonders how Yasmini passed his guards.
- Charles KingAthelstan's younger brother, a lieutenant of the Khyber Rifles in charge at Ali Masjid, who helps King put on his disguise.
- The general at PeshawarA bald, red-faced officer who sends King to work with Yasmini and warns him to keep the frontier from erupting.
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King—of the Khyber Rifles
by Talbot Mundy · 1916
Captain King, a quiet reader of surgery books, must stop a holy war with help from the dancer Yasmini.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Kuch dar nahin hai!”
In short
What does a bored captain do when a general summons him to stop a holy war? Athelstan King leaves Lahore for Peshawar, where the general meets him at the station.
King—of the Khyber Rifles at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h5 h 30 min fast, 8 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 99,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1916by Talbot Mundy
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A lazy captain gets an urgent summons
The war has just begun, and every officer in India is pulling strings for a good post. Athelstan King does the opposite. He puts his heels on a table, smokes black cheroots and reads a book on surgery. Senior men call him a fool.
Then a telegram comes from a general at Peshawar. It says only to come at once. King goes without fuss. At the station the general does most of the talking. The tribes are the danger, because India has sent its soldiers overseas. Rumors from Khinjan speak of ten thousand men in its caves. Every man sent there has vanished.
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Details
- First published
- 1916
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Mundy, Talbot. King—of the Khyber Rifles. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/king-of-the-khyber-rifles.
Mundy, T. (2026). King—Of the Khyber Rifles. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/king-of-the-khyber-rifles (Original work published 1916)
Mundy, Talbot. King—of the Khyber Rifles. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/king-of-the-khyber-rifles.
@book{mundy2026kingof,
author = {Mundy, Talbot},
title = {King—of the Khyber Rifles},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/king-of-the-khyber-rifles},
note = {First published 1916}
}
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What is King of the Khyber Rifles about?
It follows Captain Athelstan King, a British secret service officer who is sent to the northwest frontier of India in the early days of the First World War to prevent a holy war and to work with the dancer and spy Yasmini.
Who is Yasmini in the book?
Yasmini is a famed dancer and spy of part Russian blood. She claims to know the secret of the Khinjan Caves, and her loyalty is the central puzzle of the story, as King cannot tell whether she helps or hinders him.
What is the Heart of the Hills?
It is the name the tribes give to a mysterious force said to be awake in the Khinjan Caves. The rumor of its waking stirs the hills, and King must find out what it really means.
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.
“Kuch dar nahin hai!”
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