The Wind in the Willows
Biography of Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh in 1859, the son of a lawyer. His father was a heavy drinker and when his mother died of scarlet fever, he was sent to live with his grandparents in Cookham Dene, Berkshire. Her house, set in a large garden by the River Thames, is thought to be the background for The Wind in the Willows.
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Grahame was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, and in 1879 he entered the Bank of England. In his spare time, he began composing light non-fiction pieces for journals. His stories about a group of orphaned children were published in Pagan Papers in 1893, followed by collections of his sketches, most notably The Reluctant Dragon, his most famous short story.
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In 1899, Grahame married Elspeth Thomson. Their only child, Alistair, was born in 1900. He originally wrote parts of The Wind in the Willows in letter form to his son – the adventures of Toad created to amuse the boy.
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The book was published in 1908 and Grahame's animal characterisations of Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger started to gain fame. In 1929, AA Milne dramatised the story for the stage as Toad of Toad Hall.
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After the tragic death of his son, Grahame became more reclusive. He died in Pangbourne, Berkshire, in 1932. However, his timeless tale about life on the riverbank and the antics of its animal residents became a children's classic.
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