Why did Kipling write "Captains Courageous"?

Answer 1

Kipling was chronically short of money at the time he wrote this book. In 1892 he married Caroline Balastier; her brother, an American writer, had been Kipling's friend but had died of typhoid fever the previous year. While on honeymoon Kipling's bank failed and cashing in their travel tickets only let the couple return as far as Vermont (where most of the Balastier family lived). Rudyard and his new bride would live in the United States for the next four years. During this time he turned his hand to writing for children, and he published the work for which he is most remembered today -- The Jungle Book -- and its sequel in 1894 and 1895. After a quarrel with his in-laws, he and his wife returned to England, and in 1897 he published Captains Courageous.

So, it all seems to have been a matter of turning his hand to what he was good at in order to keep the pot boiling. The voyage home must have given him plenty of raw material to work from!

Answer 2

For the same reason every other author writes a book. He had this really good story idea and he had to see where it went.

Writers write for two reasons. The first is because they have a story they really want to share. The second is for money. There are easier ways to make money than writing a book so the primary reason is always they have a really good story to share.

Answer 3

That's what writers do; they write.