Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame was a British author born on March 8, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the third of four children and spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in Cookham Dene, Berkshire, England. His mother died when he was only five years old, and his father, an alcoholic, was unable to care for the children. Grahame attended St. Edward's School in Oxford and later worked as a clerk at the Bank of England. He married Elspeth Thomson in 1899, and they had one child, a son named Alastair. Grahame's son was the inspiration for the character of Toad in his most famous work, The Wind in the Willows. Grahame began writing stories and essays in his spare time, and his first book, Pagan Papers, was published in 1893. He also contributed articles to several newspapers and magazines, including The Yellow Book and The National Observer. In 1908, Grahame published The Wind in the Willows, which became an instant classic.