King of the Khyber Rifles
King of the Khyber Rifles is a novel by British writer Talbot Mundy. Captain Athelstan King is a secret agent for the British Raj at the beginning of the First World War. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India and by his interest in theosophy, it describes King's adventures among the (mostly Muslim) tribes of the north with the mystical woman adventuress, princess Yasmini and the Turkish mullah Muhammed Anim. Like Greenmantle by John Buchan, also first published in 1916, it deals with the possibility that Turkey might try to stir Muslims into a jihad against the British Empire.
Cover to the hardback 1st edition | |
| Author | Talbot Mundy |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill |
Publication date | 1916 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
The Khyber Rifles was and is an actual regiment.
What was to be Mundy's third novel was originally serialised in Everybody's Magazine in nine parts from May 1916 illustrated by Joseph Clement Coll. It was published in book form in November 1916.
The book gave many characters and themes to the book The Peshawar Lancers, including the main character, Athelstane King.