Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame was born 8th March 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. After the death of his parents, Grahame was sent to live with his grandmother in Berkshire, England. It was her house and garden on the bank of the river Thames that would inspire his most well known work, The Wind in the Willows. As money was lacking in his family, Grahame could not acquire a university education and his family encouraged him to pursue a career with the bank of England. During his banking career, he began to develop his love of literature and contributed articles to publications such as the St. James Gazette. He also published collections of his sketches, stories and essays. In 1907 Grahame retired from the bank of England due to ill health. The following year he published The Wind in the Willows to great success and acclaim. The book was popular among adults and children as it depicted animals engaged in human activities such as Toad’s love of automobiles. Since his death in 1932, Grahame is still best known for The Wind in the Willows; it has continued to be one of the most treasured classics of children’s literature. It remains to this day a charming testament to a bygone age of simplicity and innocence that has long since been lost.