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In 1892, Kipling moved to the United States. There, he wrote a novel with an American friend, Wolcott Balestier. Their book, The Naulakha (1892), never became popular. In 1892, Kipling married Balestier's sister. The couple lived in Brattleboro, Vermont, until they moved to England in 1896. Kipling later lost much popularity because of his views on various issues. For example, many people criticized his support of British colonial expansion. Others turned against him because he opposed giving women the right to vote. In addition, Kipling favoured military conscription even before World War I began in 1914. He bitterly attacked the United States for remaining neutral during the early part of the war. Kipling wrote steadily until his death, but he never regained his popularity. His autobiography, Something of Myself, was published in 1937, after his death. Most of Kipling's early writings deal with the grandeur of the British Empire. During the late 1880's, he produced several collections of short stories. The most famous of these books include Plain Tales from the Hills (1888), Soldiers Three (1888), The Phantom Rickshaw (1889), and Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories (1889). Kipling made heroes of British soldiers and government workers, whom he described as spreading justice, law, and Christian enlightenment in faraway lands. His artistic skill, together with his knowledge of India, made his writings convincing. Kipling wrote his first novel, The Light That Failed (1890), soon after returning to England from India. This book never achieved great popularity, but it showed that Kipling could write sympathetically about subjects other than the British Empire. The novel tells of a young artist and soldier who faces oncoming blindness and the loss of a woman's love. He commits suicide by deliberately exposing himself to enemy fire. The publication of Barrack-Room Ballads (1892), a collection of poems written in Cockney dialect, brought Kipling increasing fame. The second half of this book describes the joys and troubles of Private Tommy Atkins from his days as an army recruit to his retirement from the military. The book was the first in English literature to portray the heroism and quiet devotion to duty of the ordinary British soldier. The Ballads include such famous poems as "Danny Deever," "Fuzzy-Wuzzy," "Gunga Din," and "The Road to Mandalay."
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