The Wind in the Willows

The 100 best novels: No 38 – The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)

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Despite his success, and eligibility as husband material, Kenneth Grahame remained awkward in the company of the opposite sex. Only when he was 40 did he marry Elspeth Thomson, a woman who was devoted to him. Kenneth Grahame however, in a strange echo of James M. Barrie, remained distant, and incapable of demonstrating love. Elspeth grew increasingly miserable, taking to her bed for much of the day. He was blind in his right eye, and the other had a severe squint.

Mouse was much loved by both parents, but it was probably the case that Kenneth Grahame was trying to relive his own childhood through his son, especially his thwarted academic aspirations, and he had absurdly high academic expectations of Alastair. Another odd instance occurred when he was given his presents on his fourth birthday. Instead of enjoying playing with them, he started to repack them in complete silence. This strange little boy was bullied at Rugby School, and again when transferring to Eton.

He left the school, and was privately tutored in Surrey. His eyesight was worsening; he was fragile, and thoroughly miserable when he started as an undergraduate at Christ Church College, in He made no friends and joined no social clubs. He was to fail his Scripture, Greek and Latin exams three times within his first year; if he failed them again, he would be sent down have to leave university. It had all got too much for him. At his last dinner in Hall, he downed a glass of port, surprising the undergraduate sitting next to him.

Alastair then set off across the meadows—the setting for all the stories his father had told him, which had entranced him so—and which were to become The Wind in the Willows. Across the meadows was the railway track. With supreme irony, just as Peter Llewelyn Davis, the original for J. He was just 19 years old.

When his decapitated body was found the next day, his pockets were crammed with religious books for his dreaded Scripture exam. He was buried in , on his 20th birthday. His grave is hidden in a quiet corner of Oxford, in Holywell Cemetery, in the shadow of the medieval St. His father scattered lilies of the valley over the coffin. And 12 years later, his father too, a shattered genius who had now written The Wind In The Willows , was to be buried beside the doomed little boy who had inspired him.

Perhaps after all, he had gained some catharsis through writing down the stories he had told his beloved little boy. He left his post abruptly in , following a reported dispute with a governor, Walter Cunliffe. As we have seen, he used the bedtime stories he had told Alastair at this time, as a basis for the manuscript of The Wind in the Willows , where his characters do much of the same. But he was never to write anything else. For all his fame and fortune, Kenneth Grahame remained a tortured soul until his death in , a broken-hearted man of Yet the legacy of this tragic life, is a delightfully whimsical tale which has entertained both children and adults for generations.

We can recognise all the anthropomorphised animals so well from our own lives. He is tempted to explore a little further than his own comfortable domesticity, when he meets Ratty, and is very impressed by his ideas. The water rat turns out to be a dashing free-spirited, imaginative and capable friend, and the two of them have many adventures. One involves meeting Badger, a venerable wise old soul, with his down to earth reasoning and help.

He is a father figure or teacher to the others. Then of course there is Toad, who is wildly taken up by any new craze, and tempted by anything new. Toad is convinced that he can outwit everybody, and his ridiculous antics provide most of the humour in this book. He represents the spirit of abandonment and adventure that many of us might dream about, but are either too shy, or too practical and self-controlled to do.

Toad is impossibly vain and conceited, rather dim-witted, but when not devising new plot and tricks, he is very loyal. He has inherited a great house from his father, who knew full well what his impressionable and impulsive son was like, and asked Badger to look out for him, after he died. Toad is therefore immensely rich, but has a good heart essentially and is very generous to his friends, who spend much of their time getting him out off the scrapes he gets himself into. Children will love Mr. Toad, and secretly admire his devil-may-care attitude, and defiance of conventional rules and etiquette.

Today its overt themes of appreciation for domesticity and manners may seem quaint and moralistic, yet in reality, most parents would want their children to follow these. Throughout the novel, Rat and Badger are praised for their hospitality, or and as in the case of Toad, criticised for their lack of it.

Kenneth Grahame also shows children how to act towards others in certain situations, sometimes by speaking directly to the reader to comment on the importance of etiquette, from the smallest examples of table manners, or much larger concerns of honesty. Through both its plot and its writing style, The Wind in the Willows clearly shows the manners deemed proper in the Edwardian era. Both Mole and Toad make mistakes, and suffer for them. Only the aid of his friend and mentor, Rat, saves him. Toad is warned several times about his extravagant spending and reckless driving, and is eventually thrown in jail for ignoring those warnings.

Ultimately he is forced by Badger to confront his behavioural problems. The exploits and escapades of Mr. Toad were such an appealing part of the book, that 2 decades later, when it was in its 31st printing, the author A. Milne adapted those chapters for the stage. The result was A. Almost a century later, it was yet again adapted for the stage, this time as a musical, by Julian Fellowes.

This is a book which has never been out of print, has many adaptations, and never lost its appeal. One reason for this is that it is not just a collection of moral tales, but also an exciting adventure. In common with Victorian and Edwardian gentlemen, those from this class do not work. Instead they go on visits, take boats out on the river, go for long picnics, and enjoy the open air and Nature.

Both they and we therefore as a consequence appreciate the beauty of Nature through exploration. Toad takes his road trips, home-loving Mole explores the Wild Wood on his own, and even Rat, thoroughly settled in his riverbank home, is momentarily tempted to setting out for an ocean life, at the end of the season. Each of the main characters is subject to the lure of adventure. Yet whilst each of them has an adventurous spirit, and enjoys their various escapades, they all enjoy the sense of having a place of their own to return to.

Rat and Badger seem older, and are more set in their ways. They prefer to stay close to their homes, while Mole and Toad want to see as much of the world as they can. Nevertheless, Mole and Toad are also glad to have a home to go to, and which they view with great affection. The closing scenes of the novel reiterate the power of home, with view spoiler [their triumphant return to Toad Hall.

Badger is the oldest and hence commands the most respect. Rat acts as if he is slightly younger than Badger, for example, he is more active around his home but he still seems to be very sensible and quite mature. Mole behaves like a young man just trying to make his way in the world.

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Sometimes he is quite daring, but he also needs someone to guide him, as he tends to make foolish decisions. At this time, young men would often find their place in the world through the mentorship of an older, more established gentleman. We see an example of this with Rat and Mole. They instantly like each other, which enables Rat to advise Mole in many areas, and help him towards maturity, turning him into a considerate and kind gentleman. The reader sees how successful Rat has been by the end of the story. Mole plays an essential role in the final adventure at Toad Hall, and is highly praised by Badger.

Toad, on the other hand, is a more difficult case, so only Badger can fill that role of a mentor. It will take a while, but we do see signs that Toad will improve as well. It is clear that Kenneth Grahame had a strong belief in the power an older man had, as a guide to a younger one. The novel is a series of episodes, in twelve chapters; each in a way complete in themselves, and each varying a lot in its style and pace. Some are adventure stories, full of camaraderie; some are humorous interludes, often with a little moral lesson.

Some are thrilling, and full of excitement; some far more contemplative, and beautifully evocative of the English countryside. Yet oddly, as a whole, it works, as countless enthusiastic readers have attested. There are many abridgements and rewritten forms of the novel, with appropriate language for very young children. When I approached my latest reread. I was certain that I would easily be able to select just one of the three versions that I have, to keep.

Nevertheless, all three seem to have somehow found their way back on to my shelves. The Wind in the Willows is quintessentially English, and moreover very Edwardian. As we have seen, it is very concerned with correct form, and good manners; with what is required to be an upright jolly good fellow. The whole is imbued with a love of Nature and the English countryside, with lyrical passages which are quite beautiful.

The whole is a paean to the English countryside, and Kenneth Grahame repeatedly shows his views of the superiority of country life over city life. The novel begins when Mole decides to leave his crowded home in order to live more in the country, and this idea continues to permeate through each episode. He continually criticizes the ugliness of industrial life; a city became the Wild Wood once the humans abandoned it.

But his love for the pastoral life comes through most in his prose, which is rich in imagery about the beauty of nature. Never had they noticed the roses so vivid, the willow-herb so riotous, the meadow-sweet so odorous and pervading. Altogether it is a very endearing book, and one which can be read over and over again. How especially poignant and ironic, then, that the little boy who enabled its creation, found that such delight and happiness always eluded himself. View all 28 comments. Perhaps I am not really human, but rather a troll or some other such hard-hearted creature. I suppose my main issue with this book is that I couldn't quite understand the world that Mr.

Pithy words of wisdom on What It Means To Be A Child tell us that children don't have preconceptions and thus accept things more readily, being shaped only by the prejudices of adults. I assume most people would use that argument against what I am about to say, to wit, that this book makes no sense.

The Wind in the Willows wobbles along the line between fantasy and realistic fable. On one hand, there are talking animals. On the other hand, there are humans, railroads, motor cars, and jails. Sometimes the animals just live their lives along the riverbank or in the woods, doing very animalish things like migrating and storing up food for the winter and so forth, and sometimes they steal motorcars and insult the police and get tossed in the clink for 20 years. That last one is Toad, by the way, whom I found to be absolutely insufferable. Also, somehow Toad has hair, which I don't understand at all.

Are humans and animals the same size in this universe? Toad somehow manages to sneak around disguised as a human washerwoman, but is manhandled as if he were toad-sized. My head hurts from all the contradictions. This is where everyone who read and loved this rushes in and shouts: Where is your imagination? What's wrong with you? Are you done now? I mean, really, though. I read a lot of fantasy, and I'm quite prepared to suspend my disbelief or belief in order to go along with a story. I love the absurd. But I also like my stories to have continuity, and to make some sort of sense in the universe they inhabit.

I honestly have no other words to express my befuddlement after finishing this. Apr 21, Chris Van Dyke added it Shelves: I've read so many essays by book lovers who have fond, childhood memories of being read this by their father, or who ushered in spring each year by taking this book to a grassy field and reading this in the first warm breezes of May.

I want to find the tea and boating and wooded English countryside to be slow yet sonoriously comforting, like a Bach cello suite or a warm cup of cider on a cool April night. But I just find it tediously boring. I've tried it three times, and after about twelve pages I sigh, put it down, and pick up something else.

Perhaps my father needed to have read it to me when I was young. View all 18 comments. Oct 01, Jason Koivu rated it liked it Shelves: Lavishly described meandering adventures of the mild nature. The Wind in the Willows has an intrinsically English flavor. The characters are happy to live their ordinary lives with only a hint of interest in the wider world.

Too strong of an adventurous spiritedness is considered uncouth. Such hearty frivolity as Toad's is frowned upon to the utmost! Unfortunately this goes for the author, too.

Kenneth Grahame's plots are not terribly gripping due to their lack of depth. He seems pleased rather Lavishly described meandering adventures of the mild nature. He seems pleased rather to spend the time describing a pleasant boating holiday down the river. If it wasn't for the scenes with the Wonderful Toad, the Fantastic Toad there would be very little excitement indeed.

However, it is the bond of friendship and the love of homely pleasures that entices us to read on. I gave it 3 stars, because I liked The Wind in the Willows. No more and no less, and let's keep it as nice and cozily close to uncontroversial as that, shall we? View all 9 comments. Sep 11, Ron rated it really liked it Shelves: They don't write books like The Wind in the Willows anymore. Today's books for children are sly rhymes, action and social engineering.

Wind belongs to an older, more innocent time when even accomplished men such as Kenneth Grahame, A. Tolkien invented stories for their children. Stories which over the years became classics of literature. Wind isn't a fairy tale so much as it's life told for those who will inherit it. Told by those who love the inheritors. Even if you've read They don't write books like The Wind in the Willows anymore. Even if you've read it before—especially if you've seen Disney's Bowlderized revision—read it again. Pause along the way to consider the world Grahmane portrays. This is England; this is childhood; this is life as we remember it, or wish it was.

Dec 31, Miranda Reads rated it liked it. A book you bought on a trip. A whimsical classic tale featuring Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad. We have sheltered Mole, venturing out to see the river with Rat. There's the stodgy old Badger who turns out to be much more warmhearted than anticipated. The fanciful Toad learns several valuable life lessons - one of which requires the garb of a grandmother during a prison escape! Charming, fun and a bit c And with just 6 hours to spare - the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge has been completed The prompt: Charming, fun and a bit concerning.

Look, reading this as an adult, I do have a few questions: If two moles meet, do they refer to each other as Mole? Or is it just our cast of characters that has the misfortune of being named after their species? It seems like all animals are intelligent beings in this book so how can they bear to eat ham and sausages? Perhaps the tasty animals don't count Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Learn more More Like This. Toad's Wild Ride Wind in the Willows TV Movie The Wind in the Willows — Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Barge Lady Jim Carter Engine Driver Anna Maxwell Martin Gaoler's Daughter Mary Walsh Tweed Radu Andrei Micu Chief Weasel Andrei Avrinte Edit Details Official Sites: Edit Did You Know?

Trivia The film was released exactly 10 years after Terry Jones' adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame novel, which follow the same concept as this film: A live action adaptation where the animal characters are played by humans wearing representative costumes. Goofs When Toad steals the horse from the Barge woman, the horse has no saddle. The chapter "Dulce Domum" describes Mole's return to his home with Rat where he rediscovers, with Rat's help, a familiar comfort, despite finding it in a terrible mess after his abortive spring clean.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Pan removes their memories of this meeting " lest the awful remembrance should remain and grow, and overshadow mirth and pleasure ". Finally, in "Wayfarers All", Ratty shows a restless side to his character when he is sorely tempted to join a Sea Rat on his travelling adventures. The original publication of the book was plain text, with a frontispiece illustrated by Graham Robertson, but many illustrated, comic, and annotated versions have been published over the years. A number of publishers rejected the manuscript.

It was published in the UK by Methuen and Co. The critics, who were hoping for a third volume in the style of Graham's earlier works; The Golden Age and Dream Days , generally gave negative reviews. In , then sitting US President Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Grahame to tell him that he had "read it and reread it, and have come to accept the characters as old friends".

A book that we all greatly loved and admired and read aloud or alone, over and over and over: The Wind in the Willows. This book is, in a way, two separate books put into one. There are, on the one hand, those chapters concerned with the adventures of Toad; and on the other hand there are those chapters that explore human emotions — the emotions of fear, nostalgia, awe, wanderlust.

My mother was drawn to the second group, of which "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was her favourite, read to me again and again with always, towards the end, the catch in the voice and the long pause to find her handkerchief and blow her nose. My father, on his side, was so captivated by the first group that he turned these chapters into the children's play, Toad of Toad Hall.

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In this play one emotion only is allowed to creep in: The village of Lerryn , Cornwall claims to be the setting for the book. Simon Winchester suggested that the character of Ratty was based on Frederick Furnivall , a keen oarsman and acquaintance of Kenneth Grahame. Grahame wrote this in a signed copy he gave to Quiller-Couch's daughter, Foy Felicia. There is a proposal that the idea for the story arose when its author saw a water vole beside the River Pang in Berkshire, southern England. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see The Wind in the Willows disambiguation. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. September Learn how and when to remove this template message. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Retrieved 17 January Dragons and Pterodactyles —". Beyond the Wild Wood: Retrieved 1 March The Spell of Oxford". The Story of Cookham.

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