"The Gardener" by Rudyard Kipling

I haven't read much (if anything) by Kipling, but I recently listened to his short story, "The Gardener," on The Classic Tales Podcast.  I listened to it a few times, and then read it for myself.*

It's a gem.  One might say it's a portrait of (among many other things) loneliness and missed chances for redemption.  I predicted the primary twist, but I did not anticipate the overall trajectory or even the genre of the story.







FN* The story was published in the book Debits and Credits.  Strangely, all of the "complete" free versions I found online are marred with errors and omissions.  The most striking omission was the end and aftermath of the conversation with Mrs Scarsworth; I don't know if that is an earlier or alternative version of the story (i.e., if Kipling ever published it without those paragraphs)..