The Wind in the Willows
Author Kenneth Grahame
-
Story
The Wind in the Willows is a gentle story of four woodland creatures – Ratty, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad – and their adventures in the English countryside. When Toad's eccentric escapades lead to his imprisonment, his three friends must devise a plan to free him and reclaim Toad Hall from the mischievous weasels and stoats.
These much-loved adventures began as bedtime stories and letters for Kenneth Grahame’s son, Alistair, inspired by Grahame’s childhood at Cookham Dene by the River Thames. Kenneth Grahame’s letters to his son, Alastair, on which the story is based, are in the Bodleian Library, Oxford and Grahame is buried in Oxford’s Holywell Cemetery.
-
Why we chose it
A much-loved favourite for its eccentric characters and themes of friendship, loyalty and courage.
-
First published
1908, Methuen