First whisper of 'The Wind in the Willows'

by Kenneth Grahame, Elspeth Grahame (Editor)

First Whisper of "The Wind in the Willows"

89 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Kenneth Grahame was a British writer. He is best remembered for the classic of children's literature The Wind in the Willows (1908). Scottish by birth, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in England, following the death of his mother and his father's inability to look after the children. After attending St Edward's School in Oxford, his ambition to attend university was thwarted and he joined the Bank of England, where he had a successful career. Before writing The Wind in the Willows, he published three other books: Pagan Papers (1893), The Golden Age (1895), and Dream Days (1898).

Reviews

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you request a book from the library and it has it's circulation card from 1945, you know you are heading into a true reader's rabbit hole. This is a delightful slim book, in three parts. If you are a fan of Wind in the Willows you will enjoy seeing the original letters and insider thoughts from his wife and a friend.

3.5 but rounded up because it is Wind in the Willows adjacent

[Andria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming read. I found this book, published during WWII according to the War Economy Standard, in an antique bookshop in Plymouth, Mass. We came across Grahame's and his son Alistair's graves and headstone in Oxford this summer by chance after also finding Tolkien's Bench. His epitaph reads "Leaving childhood and literature through him the more blest for all time".

[Henry Sturcke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slim volume contains three parts. The first, nearly half the book, is an introduction by Grahame's widow, Elsbeth, which includes reminiscences by an American professor, Clayton Hamilton, and Arthur Quiller-Couch. The middle section, "Bertie's Escapade," recounts the adventure of Grahame's pig, who jumped the fence of his sty. The third section contains the germ of Grahame's Wind in the Willows, a set of letters Grahame wrote to his son, away at the seaside, to substitute for the nightly bedtime stories at home. The child's nanny was charmed by them, saved the letters, and turned them over to Elspeth Grahame, who pulled them out when her husband had no idea for his next book. It's interesting to see how close they are to the corresponding chapter of the book when it appeared.

[David Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The delightful beginnings of the adventures concerning Mr Toad, Ratty, Moley, and Badger. A must read for all fans of The Wind in the Willows. The epistolary, and therefore, serial format of the stories makes them short and simpler to read. This is not a book to read to children, but for the adult who has grown up reading, or only recently discovered, the fantastical tales of Mr Grahame who wishes to lay his or her hands on anything that will take them back to Toad Hall, the River Bank, and all those other familiar landscapes.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic nonfiction look at the writing of Kenneth Grahame's classic The Wind in the Willows. Ms. Grahame puts together an introduction to Grahame, his life, his family, and his career; then she provides a selection of letters Grahame sent to their son which are the genesis of the famous tales of Ratty, Mole, Badger, and the ever-fabulous Toad. A wonderful little book, perfect for lovers of The Wind in the Willows.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly charming, WitW trivia, letters, origin stories and anecdotes

[Jeremy Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and eccentric
I found an elderly hardback copy of this in the Oxfam bookshop a few weeks ago and, recalling how much I enjoyed reading "The Wind In The Willows", bought it. Published in 1944, it begins with an introduction, written by Grahame's widow Elspeth, containing personal details about her husband (who died in 1932) and their son Alistair (who died in 1920). Given the deeply personal nature of her subject matter, it's understandable that some of what the author writes could be viewed as idiosyncratic - for example, writing about when her son was a little boy, she says "To all his elders and to the poor he bore himself with the sweetest of courtesy. On whatever else he might have improved, his high manners were his own, and absolute" [p11]. There's also a note by Clayton Hamilton, an American professor, describing a meeting with the author which includes his gnomic comment: "People really ought to look like themselves. Keats did, and so did Shelley. But so few of them do, so few of them do." [p29].

This is followed by a brief work of fancy, "Bertie's escapade", which Grahame composed for the amusement of Alistair. The final part of the book is taken from letters Grahame wrote to Alistair whilst the little boy was on holiday with his governess at the seaside, beginning in 1907. According to his mother's Introduction, Alistair would only agree to go away if his father continued with the bedtime stories they'd been sharing by forwarding further instalments in writing to him. After reading the letters to the child, the governess preserved them and eventually posted them back to Alistair's mother. The letters contained the adventures of Mr Toad. and so constitute the first draft of "The Wind In The Willows (a facsimile page from one of the letters is included in this volume). It's been a while since I read the book, but I think this draft is very close to the published version, indicating that the story sprang more-or-less fully formed from the imagination of the gifted author as he strove to create something for the amusement of his child.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child. I ever had toads; Mr and Mrs J Thadeous Toad. They had a toad house. I decided to reread it as an adult. I am surprised that it had been so special to me. I now find the story lengthier than I expected. But it was one of the books that made me an avid reader. Weird.