The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley. In 1908, Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Berkshire, where he had lived as a child, and spent his time by the River Thames doing much as
The Wind in the Willows Golden Age" and "Dream Days", generally gave negative reviews. The public loved it, however, and within a few years it sold in such numbers that many reprints were required. In 1909, 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". In "The Enchanted Places", Christopher Robin Milne wrote of "The Wind in the Willows": Unproduced The BBC has broadcast a number of radio productions of the story. Dramatisations include: Abridged readings include: Other presentation formats: Mapledurham House in Oxfordshire