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Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932)

Author of The Wind in the Willows

267+ Works 30,111 Members 421 Reviews 29 Favorited
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About the Author

Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh on March 3, 1859. When he was five years old, his mother died of scarlet fever and he nearly died himself, of the same disease. His father became an alcoholic and sent the children to Berkshire to live with relatives. They were later reunited with their father, show more but after a failed year, the children never heard from him again. Sometime later, one of his brothers died at the age of fifteen. He attended St. Edward's School as a child and intended to go on to Oxford University, but his relatives wanted him to go into banking. He worked in his uncle's office, in Westminster, for two years then went to work at the Bank of England as a clerk in 1879. He spent nearly thirty years there and became the Secretary of the Bank at the age of thirty-nine. He retired from the bank right before The Wind in the Willows was published in 1908. He wrote essays on topics that included smoking, walking and idleness. Many of the essays were published as the book Pagan Papers (1893) and the five orphan characters featured in the papers were developed into the books The Golden Age (1895) and Dream Days (1898). The Wind in the Willows (1908) was based on bedtime stories and letters to his son and it is where the characters Rat, Badger, Mole and Toad were created. In 1930, Milne's stage version was brought to another audience in Toad of Toad Hall. Grahame died on July 6, 1932. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: from Wikipedia

Series

Works by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows (1908) 23,480 copies
The Reluctant Dragon (1898) 1,832 copies
The Golden Age (1895) 506 copies
Dream Days (1898) 427 copies
Bertie's Escapade (1949) 44 copies
Pagan Papers (1898) 42 copies
The Kenneth Grahame book (1895) 39 copies
The Golden Age & Dream Days (1962) 37 copies
Mole's Christmas (1982) 33 copies
Dragons and Other Beasts (2004) 30 copies
A Hundred Fables of Aesop (1984) 23 copies
The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children (1916) — Editor — 23 copies
Tales From The Wind in the Willows (1995) — original story author — 21 copies
The Headswoman (2010) 16 copies
Duck Song (1863) 13 copies
Christmas Book at Bedtime (2000) 9 copies
Duck's Ditty (2018) 7 copies
The Adventures of Mr Toad (1987) 6 copies
Wind in the Willows (1991) 6 copies
Toad's Tale (1982) 5 copies
Wind in the Willows [1988 TV movie] — Original book — 4 copies
Lost in the Wild Wood (2001) 3 copies
Tuulesahin pajudes (2018) 3 copies
Sogutlukte Ruzgar (2011) 2 copies
Mr Toad's adventures (1996) 2 copies
Herr Padda (1991) 2 copies
Fun O'The Fair 2 copies
Discover The Wonder (1992) 1 copy
Il cassetto segreto (1993) 1 copy
Vypraveni pod vrbou (1998) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Wind in the Willows (Inga Moore) (1984) — Story — 601 copies
The Victorian Fairytale Book (1988) — Contributor — 461 copies
The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales (1993) — Contributor — 365 copies
The Wind in the Willows [abridged - Classic Starts] (2007) — original story author — 245 copies
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad [1949 film] (1949) — Original story — 236 copies
The Golden Treasury of Children's Literature Set (1961) — Contributor — 209 copies
Ladybird Classics: The Wind in the Willows (1983) — Story — 172 copies
The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (2019) — Contributor — 166 copies
Ghost Stories (1991) — Contributor — 141 copies
A Literary Christmas: An Anthology (2013) — Contributor — 134 copies
Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves (1987) — Contributor — 126 copies
Poems of Early Childhood (Childcraft) (1923) — Contributor — 118 copies
The Penguin Book of Dragons (2021) — Contributor — 110 copies
The Wind in the Willows (Michael Bishop) (1985) — Story — 96 copies
The Wind in the Willows #2: The Open Road (1988) — original storyteller — 96 copies
Victorian Fairy Tales (2014) — Contributor — 86 copies
Told Under the Christmas Tree (1941) — Contributor — 81 copies
The Wind in the Willows: The River Bank (1984) — original source author — 75 copies
The Reluctant Dragon [1941 film] (1941) — Original story — 65 copies
The Paganism Reader (2004) — Contributor — 63 copies
A Season of Joy: Favorite Stories and Poems for Christmas (1987) — Contributor — 48 copies
Wild Wood, The (1990) — original storyteller — 35 copies
The Reluctant Dragon (2004) — Author — 35 copies
Round the Christmas Fire: Festive Stories (2013) — Contributor — 34 copies
The Wind in the Willows [2006 film] — Original book — 33 copies
Mr. Toad Comes Home (1990) — original storyteller — 31 copies
The Wild Wood (1992) — original storyteller — 31 copies
The Wind in the Willows: The Battle for Toad Hall (1990) — original source author — 31 copies
The Open Road (Wind in the Willows, Book 1) (1987) — original storyteller; original storyteller — 29 copies
The Wind in the Willows [1949 short film] (1949) — Original story — 28 copies
The River Bank (1990) — original storyteller — 27 copies
The Horned God: Weird Tales of the Great God Pan (2022) — Contributor — 27 copies
Home Sweet Home (Wind in the Willows) (1993) — original storyteller — 25 copies
The Animals' Christmas (1944) — Contributor — 25 copies
Mr. Toad (The wind in the willows library) (1990) — original storyteller — 23 copies
The Wind in the Willows: The wild wood (adapted ∙ boardbook) (1990) — original story author — 18 copies
The Wind in the Willows (2014) — original story author — 18 copies
The Wind in the Willows #6: Restless Rat (Easy Reader Classics) (2010) — original storyteller — 16 copies
The Wind in the Willows #5: Sneaky Toad (Easy Reader Classics) (2010) — original storyteller — 14 copies
The Wind in the Willows: The Complete First Series (2005) — original story author — 13 copies
Little Treasury of the Wind in the Willows (Little treasuries) (1995) — original source author — 13 copies
Short Stories of To-Day (1924) — Contributor — 11 copies
Wind in the Willows: The River Bank (Board Book) (1969) — original story — 10 copies
The Country Child (1992) — Contributor — 10 copies
Little Otter is Missing (Wind in the Willows Library) (1995) — original storyteller — 10 copies
The Wind in the Willows [2006 film] — Original book — 10 copies
The Wind in the Willows Library: (Slip Case Set of 4 Titles) (1867) — original storyteller — 10 copies
Spring World, Awake: Stories, Poems, and Essays (1970) — Contributor — 9 copies
The Adventures of Mr. Toad (1995) — original storyteller — 8 copies
Wind in the Willows Board Book: River Bank (1990) — original story author — 8 copies
Time to Be Young: Great Stories of the Growing Years (1945) — Contributor — 7 copies
Return to Toad Hall (Tales from the "Wind in the Willows") (1995) — original story author — 4 copies
The Wind in The Willows: The Complete Second Series (2005) — Original book — 3 copies
Short Stories of the Past (1950) — Contributor — 2 copies
The Reluctant Dragon [1941 short film] — Original story — 2 copies
The Wind in the Willows [theatre programme] 1993 (1993) — Contributor — 1 copy
The WInd in the Willows: Four Storybook Adventures (1993) — original storyteller — 1 copy

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Grahame, Kenneth
Birthdate
1859-03-08
Date of death
1932-07-06
Burial location
Holywell Cemetery, St Cross Church, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Gender
male
Nationality
UK
Country (for map)
Scotland, UK
Birthplace
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Place of death
Pangbourne, Berkshire, England, UK
Places of residence
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Pangbourne, Berkshire, England, UK
Blewbury, England, UK
Education
St. Edward's School, Oxford, England
Occupations
banker
secretary (Bank of England)
essayist
short-story writer
Relationships
Hope, Anthony (cousin)
Robertson, W. Graham (house share)
Organizations
London Scottish Regiment
Bank of England
Short biography
Married to Elspeth Grahame, with one son, Alistair Graham.
British author and banker. Educated at St. Edward’s School, Oxford. He was orphaned at an early age and brought up by his grandmother. His family unable to afford the cost of university he took up a career with the Bank of England where he stayed until ill health caused his retirement, in his late forties, in 1907. During the banking days he wrote (and had published) essays and poems in his spare time. Among his books were Pagan Papers (1893), The Golden Age (1895), Dream Days (1898) and then… The Wind in the Willows (1908) which started life as a bedtime serial tale for his son Alastair.

Members

Discussions

the illustrators of The Wind in the Willows - part 2 in Tattered but still lovely (August 2023)
Hand & Eye The Wind in the Willows in Fine Press Forum (December 2022)
Mad Parrot Press Wind in the Willows in Fine Press Forum (September 2022)
Chas. Van Sandwyk's Wind in the Willows in Fine Press Forum (October 2021)
the illustrators of The Wind in the Willows in Tattered but still lovely (January 2016)
The Wind in the Willows in British & Irish Children's Fiction (October 2009)

Reviews

A classic of children’s literature (published in 1908) that I never heard or read as a child and somehow never got around to reading until now. A great pity. I have no doubt whatsoever that I would have loved this as a child; one of my delights was the edition I read had absolutely wonderful illustrations. The storyline is simple: two friends, Mole and Rat—together with Badger and a small, assorted cast of others—devote their energies to saving Mr. Toad from his lack of judgment. There are a number of short adventures tucked in as well and a truly lovely, evocative paean to the English countryside runs throughout. The animals’ personalities are beautifully drawn and I cannot imagine any child (or adult, for that matter) who would not be enchanted by this gentle tale. Highly recommended.… (more)
 
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Gypsy_Boy | 328 other reviews | Mar 8, 2024 |
 
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AnkaraLibrary | Feb 29, 2024 |
Enchanting and moving. This ageless classic (1908) with its Shinto-like quality embodies a deep respect for the spirits of nature, culminating in the presence of Pan. Here the river is a friend and not a resource. Yes, it can be regarded as a book for children, and I've read some of the Marxist, homoerotic, feminist critiques, but I found it spoke to me about community, kindness, civility, and above all - home.
We others, who have long lost the more subtle of the physical senses, have not even proper terms to express an animal’s intercommunications with his surroundings, living or otherwise, and have only the word ‘smell’ for instance, to include the whole range of delicate thrills which murmur in the nose of the animal night and day, summoning, warning, inciting, repelling. p.67
Home is the grounding force beyond which even migratory creatures feel lost and out of place. Home is augmented by food, and like Enid Blyton, Kenneth Grahame treats us.
...he took care to include a yard of long French bread, a suasage out of which the garlic sang, some cheese which lay down and creid, and a long-necked straw-covered flask contaning bottled sunshine ched and garnered on far Southern slopes. p. 139.
… (more)
 
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simonpockley | 328 other reviews | Feb 25, 2024 |
Kjo vepër qëndron përkrah aventurës së shkëlqyeshme të po këtij autori – “Era mes Shelgjeve” – dhe personazhet janë po aq intrigues sa Zhabani, Miu, Baldosku dhe Urithi, duke e kthyer Keneth Grehëmin në një ndër klasikët e letërsisë për fëmijë.
 
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BibliotekaFeniks | Feb 5, 2024 |

Lists

Read (1)
1970s (1)

Awards

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Associated Authors

John Worsley Illustrator
John Patience Illustrator
Beverley Gooding Illustrator
Laura Lydecker Illustrator
Seth Lerer Editor
Sankha Banerjee Illustrator
Peter Haining Introduction
John Hench Adaptor
Brian Jacques Introduction
Inga Moore Illustrator, Adapter
E. H. Shepard Illustrator
Nick Price Illustrator
Val Biro Illustrator
Paul Bransom Illustrator
Steve Smallman Illustrator
Hala Wittwer Cover artist
Tim Davis Illustrator
David Gooderson Introduction
Babette Cole Illustrator
Joung Un Kim Illustrator
Maggie Downer Illustrator
Derek Jacobi Narrator
Diana Rigg Narrator
Judi Dench Narrator
Brenda Apsley Abridgement
Graham Philpot Illustrator
Robert Benchley Introduction
Paul Henning Illustrator
Helen Ward Illustrator
Mark F. Smith Narrator
Michael Hague Illustrator
Eric Kincaid Illustrator
John Burningham Illustrator
Harry Rowohlt Translator
Roger Sale Introduction
Ralph Cosham Narrator
Tasha Tudor Illustrator
David K. Stone Illustrator
Krista Brennan Illustrator
Luanne Rice Introduction
Rene Cloke Illustrator
Dave Kramer Cover artist
Ralph Pinto Illustrator
Kate Forrester Cover artist
Rachell Sumpter Cover artist
Dick Cuffari Illustrator
Les Morrill Illustrator
Arthur Rackham Illustrator
Chris Dunn Illustrator
Flo Gibson Narrator
Alex Tsao Illustrator
Richard Johnson Illustrator
Terry Jones Narrator
Mary Ellman Introduction
Robert Ingpen Illustrator
Patrick Benson Illustrator
Justin Todd Illustrator
Joanne Moss Illustrator
Tony Collins Cover designer
Scott McKowan Illustrator
Paul Cox Illustrator
Don Daily Illustrator
Tjeerd Bottema Illustrator
Alan Bennett Introduction
Robert J. Lee Illustrator
Mary Woods Narrator
Mary Jane Begin Illustrator
Jane Yolen Afterword
James Saxon Narrator
A. A. Milne Introduction
Michael Foreman Illustrator
James Lynch Illustrator
Peter Barrett Cover artist
Anna Leplar Illustrator
Nancy Barnhart Illustrator
Maxfield Parrish Illustrator
Peggy Fortnum Illustrator
Boris Karloff Narrator
Anton Lesser Narrator
I. M. Richardson Illustrator
Jim Weiss Narrator
Darcie Park Illustrator
Jim Johanson Narrator
Mike Tate Narrator
Fred Blunt Illustrator
Bertie Carvel Narrator
Laura Fernandez Cover artist
Julia Eccleshare Introduction
Debra McFarlane Illustrator
Les Edwards Cover artist
Adrienne Adams Illustrator
Gwendolen Raverat Illustrator
Sargent John S Illustrator
Holly Hannon Illustrator
Ernest K. Shephard Illustrator
Martin Jarvis Narrator
Ernest Shepard Illustrator
Lulu Delacre Illustrator

Statistics

Works
267
Also by
82
Members
30,111
Popularity
#668
Rating
4.1
Reviews
421
ISBNs
1,611
Languages
30
Favorited
29

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