The Wind in the Willows

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859, Grahame was raised by relatives in the village of Cookham in Berkshire west of London. As a boy, he enjoyed boating on the nearby River Thames and wandering through the region’s woods and fields. These experiences later provided him with source material for the tale of anthropomorphized animals that became his book The Wind in the Willows.

Although Grahame was an excellent student and wanted to attend Oxford, he was unable to do so for financial reasons. Nevertheless, he became a banker and prospered. During his twenties, while working his way up through the ranks at the bank, Grahame authored stories that appeared in local publications such as London’s St. James Gazette. Some of these works were later published as collections: Pagan Papers (1893), The Golden Age (1895), and Dream Days (1898), the last of which contains his most famous short story, The Reluctant Dragon. This story was unusual for its time in that it didn’t portray the dragon as fearsome. Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, the story later inspired a film, a children’s operetta, an episode of a television show, and other works.

Grahame and his wife, Elspeth, had one child, Alistair. The boy had many health problems but was cheered by the tales his father told him about four animal friends living in a wooded village and their adventures near the river. When Grahame retired from the bank, the family moved back to Cookham, and he organized Alistair’s bedtime stories into The Wind in the Willows and succeeded in having it published it in 1908.

Initially rejected by publishers and widely panned by critics after its publication, the work found an audience among grateful families and soon became a classic. US President Theodore Roosevelt told Grahame that he’d read the book twice, and thought of the characters as “old friends.” Roosevelt convinced the publisher, Scribner, to release the book in the US. A. A. Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh stories, wrote a 1929 play, Toad of Toad Hall, that increased the book’s popularity (“First edition of The Wind in the Willows sells for £32,400.” The Guardian, 24 Mar 2010). The book is now among the most enduring works of British children’s literature.

Like The Reluctant Dragon, The Wind in the Willows became the inspiration for many other creative works. Dozens of plays, films, and TV shows have been made that describe the adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad. Among the most influential is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, a two-part Disney animated feature that includes Mr. Toad’s car-stealing caper. In addition, Mr. Toad’s name remains well-known in part because of the Disneyland attraction Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

Grahame, who died in Berkshire in 1932, is buried at Holywell Cemetery in Oxford. His epitaph, penned by his cousin Anthony Hope (who was also a writer), notes how Grahame’s contributions left a lasting legacy that would continue to improve the lives of children and the world of literature.