Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Jane Desmarais (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Ed. by Chris Baldick, Goldsmiths College, University of London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1908

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Children's Literature
Novel

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Kenneth Grahame’s

The Wind in the Willows

(1908) is a novel-length children’s story about a fraternity of animals living in the English countryside. Originally written as a series of bedtime tales about mischievous Mr Toad to placate the author’s unruly son, it is a classic work that both adults and children continue to find irresistible, both for its charming characterization and its rural idealism. The enduring appeal of

The Wind in the Willows

has much to do with its traditionalism and theme of escape. As Grahame’s biographer, Peter Green, comments:

What it conveys throughout is the sense of a complete and self-contained world to which for a short while we are given access. The River Bank and its environs are, in every sense, off the map. Though they are bathed in a very

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2223 words

Citation: Desmarais, Jane. "The Wind in the Willows". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 November 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13229, accessed 03 December 2024.]

Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback