The Willows at Christmas

Tales of the Willows #4

by William Horwood, Patrick Benson (Illustrator)

The twelve days of Christmas are fast approaching and Mole is planning to enjoy every one of them with his River Bank friends. So when the normally cheerful Toad despairs at the arrival of Mrs. Ffleshe, an impossibly rude houseguest who every year sets out to protect Toad from overindulgence, Mole must do something about it. But the plan he hatches with Ratty, Badger, and Otter goes horribly wrong. With the prospect of spending Christmas in jail, Mole will have to work hard if he is to salvage some Christmas spirit for his friends.

The Willows at Christmas is the crowning achievement of William Horwood's enchanting sequels to Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows . The new story is set just after the original, but before Horwood's critically acclaimed The Willows in Winter . It will give pleasure to the countless readers around the world who have reveled in each new work. Merry Christmas!

Genres: Christmas, Fantasy, Fiction, Classics, Childrens, Animals, Middle Grade

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 1999

About the author

William Horwood is an English novelist. His first novel, Duncton Wood, an allegorical tale about a community of moles, was published in 1980. It was followed by two sequels, forming The Duncton Chronicles, and also a second trilogy, The Book of Silence. William Horwood has also written two stand-alone novels intertwining the lives of humans and of eagles, The Stonor Eagles and Callanish , and The Wolves of Time duology. Skallagrigg, his 1987 novel about disability, love, and trust, was made into a BBC film in 1994. In addition, he has written a number of sequels to The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

In 2007, he collaborated with historian Helen Rappaport to produce Dark Hearts of Chicago, a historical mystery and thriller set in nineteenth-century Chicago. It was republished in 2008 as City of Dark Hearts with some significant revisions and cuts under the pen name James Conan.

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Mole is so excited to spend Christmas with his beloved River Bank friends. He has plans galore for decorating, cooking, and general merriment. But none of his friends want to celebrate Christmas, so Mole begins to investigate the gloom that reigns instead of jovial festivity. He learns that it all originated with a feud in Toad’s family and a horrible house guest that infests Toad Hall every Christmas. Mole has a plan but it quickly spirals out of control through the villainy of Toad’s unwanted guest Mrs Fflesche and her cruel companions. The River Bankers must work together to overthrow the tyranny that has invaded Toad Hall and the village in time to celebrate Twelfth Night.

That totally sounds like a back-of-the-book blurb. 😂 I loved the first 3/4s of this book. I love that Mole is the protagonist. He’s a creature after my own heart plus he is as steadfast, courageous, and loyal as I long to be. I didn’t even mind Toad in the first 3/4s. But then he does something typically foolhardy and toad-like, and the last 1/4 with its trial and kangaroo court was just a bit much for me. I don’t usually care for court room scenes in books generally. I much prefer Rat’s ingenious plotting, the River Bankers’ subterfuge on the side of good, and Mole’s side dilemma involving a long-lost and beloved sister. So I’m not giving this a star rating because you may very well love the last fourth of the novel. (It is funny.) This was still such a fun read overall and is perfect if you want adventure at Christmas instead of only cozy.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Mole's first Christmas on the River Bank after meeting his new friends, the Water Rat, Otter, Badger, and Toad. Mole is concerned because no one seems to have any Christmas spirit, and all his friends find excuses not to attend his holiday festivities. Can Mole unravel the mystery of why a mysterious house guest at Toad Hall is ruining the Christmas season for the entire River Bank? The River Bank friends are launched into a Christmas adventure when Toad is arrested AGAIN, and an ancient law invoked by the Lord of the Manor could mean the end of the Willows.

I adore every book in this series, and this one is wonderful too! Such a great plot with lots of action and excitement interspersed with moments of sweet affection and simple home comforts. The writing style is so close to the writing of Kenneth Grahame that I can barely tell the difference. The old-fashioned charm of the story swept me away immediately into the wholesome world of the Willows.

[Gina House · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟 Oh, I wanted so much to love this book!! This is the last of the William Horwood series that I was buddy reading with my dear friend, Caro (@carosbookcase). We planned to save "the best for last" for our December Christmas read. But, I felt disappointed with this story. It may be that my hopes were too high or I'd heard that too many people love this book that I thought I would love it, too.

I bookmarked at least ten passages that I loved, though only one or two had a Christmas "feel" to them. My expectation for 100% Christmas coziness was unrealistic, I think. I've very much enjoyed all of the other books in the series (especially The Willows in Winter), but The Willows at Christmas fell short for me.

As positives, I was thrilled with the addition of at least five or more full-page, colorful and glossy illustrations (my favorite!), revisiting my friends Ratty, Mole, Toad, Badger and Otter; and reading the transition from The Wind in the Willows to this new series. In retrospect, I would have read this book first and then continued with the others.

I just found the entire situation between Toad and Ms. Ffleshe to be horrible and extremely frustrating. I almost had to skip the entire chapter of "The Councils of War" to be able to continue with the story. For me, it was too much tension and barely any Christmas scenes. I almost wonder why they called it The Willows at Christmas since most of the story happens after Christmas has already ended.

I'm glad I read this book, but it's (sadly) my least favorite book in all of the William Horwood series. I hope, though, that other readers enjoy this book more than I did. Maybe it just needs another read or two for me to appreciate it. (I hope!)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Altogether too many torture implements for a cozy Christmas tale for children but still a nice little seasonal distraction.

[Mardi D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a bit slow in places but the story was good. I was hoping that Christmas would play into the story line more than it did. I would be interested in trying another of this author's books in this series if I happen to come across one but I don't know that I would make effort to search for one.

[D.A. Fellows · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars. Much better than the last attempt, which felt bleak and disjointed. This one did seem to follow the slightly formulaic ‘Toad-ends-up-on-trial-again’ approach, but in terms of tone it was more in keeping with the original, and Horwood’s first couple.

[Emma Grace Blumer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoyed this as a Christmastime read-aloud. I edited the trial scene somewhat for my kid’s ages. The wordsmithery and character development (especially in the meaningful friendship between Miss Bugle and Mole) was a true joy!

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. His lovable characters--Water Rat, Badger, Mole, Otter, & Toad of Toad Hall--have been kept alive by William Horwood in further adventures. The Willows at Christmas finds the sentimental Mole, who has lost touch with his remaining family, nostalgic at recalling Christmases past celebrated with traditions & surrounded by friends & family. He sets out to provide that kind of holiday for his River Bank friends, but discovers that many things have changed at Toad Hall & in the Village over the last years that have all but forgotten Christmas celebrations. As he investigates these changes & what he might do about them, he enlists the help of Miss Bugle, housekeeper to Toad Hall, who does her own small part to keep Christmas alive as she can. But this plan to restore the joys of the season is not as easy as they thought--Toad's formidable annual holiday guest, Mrs. Ffleshe, proves a strong opponent & Mole & Toad end up under arrest & thrown in gaol. Can the River Bankers rescue them & change the expected outcome of the trial (which is execution)? Can they restore the depressed & downtrodden Village to its former glory? Will they ever celebrate the holiday together? This book had dastardly villains & much in the way of cruel courtroom practices which may be a little strong for youngsters, but make for a rousing adventure. I didn't enjoy it as much as others I've read, but I did like revisiting old friends.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were later starting this book, but it worked out fabulously since we finished on a snowy January 6, which is precisely when the novel ties up its story threads.

My husband listened to this as I read it aloud to our 10 & 13 yo (good target ages, btw, though could go a bit lower or older), and he was surprised to learn that it was not written by Kenneth Graham. The sentence structure and vocabulary are very advanced. I mean, there were a number of words that I was totally unfamiliar with. I'm not complaining, but it is a heads up if you're considering whether your kids might enjoy it. (How do you even pronounce "perspicacious"?) My hardback copy has darling and detailed drawings every page or two and beautifully illustrated full color pictures every 20ish pages.

The plot is reminiscent of the original book with the main focus primarily following Mole, although Toad gets a lot of feature time, too. I don't love Toad, and I didn't love the scenes with Lord Mallice and Mrs. Ffleshe, but those are petty complaints. Great winter read!

[Eleanor]

God bless Horwood for writing his continuations of the adventures of Mole, Ratty, Badger, Otter and Toad. They're all just as moving and delightful as Grahame's original. This one, rather like the original, involves a farcical imprisonment, escape, trial, and miraculous salvation, but also deals with the holiday sadness of far-away loved ones and the small, beautiful things that people of little means do to make things nice for themselves. It brought me to tears more than once. A lovely Christmas story.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, it is Christmas time! Mole is wanting to spend it with all of his friends but with so much going on is there a way? Toad is getting into trouble as always and Mole is pulled into the mix. Badger, Ratty, Otter and others are there to help. I loved the adventure, but it was sad coming to the end of the series. I loved it! Highly Recommend this book as well as the series! Great for kids of all ages!

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the Tales of the Willows series! They are all delightful and amusing, but this one really highlighted the reasons I enjoy them: strong bonds of friendship, cozy cottage core feels (particularly all of the food and goodies they make and enjoy), pokes fun at the judicial system of an older England, a charming setting, and engaging characters. I loved the emphasis on preserving the Christmas spirit and it was such a delight to read this Christmas season!

[Cristina Pitts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book so much more credit, but the story is bad. What gets me is the writing. The writer is definitely amazing, but this story blows. It starts out really good, building up to a disaster, and ends up as expected, but the disaster part just ruins it.

Again, the writing is what kept me going. It just flows. Some writers have it, even if the story sucks.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting a lot more of a cozy and simple River Bank Christmas and what I got was a depressing story with courts, torture implements and corrupt government officials. It is sad but I can't give this book more than 3 stars, which is also disappointing since the last book, The Willows and Beyond was extremely good.

[Christine McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horwood has written a wonderful Christmas tale. Set not long after the original story by Grahame, we see Toad in trouble, and his friends helping him out once again. Plentyt humor, but also some real depth of emotion.

[Jasmine Martin]

Delightful and hilarious! I want to be like Mole, but Mr. Toad hits a little too close to home sometimes. :) This was the perfect pre-Christmas read.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for Christmas season, winter days, and long evenings

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and fun. Enjoyed!

[Oskar]

Not quite what I'd expected, but still enjoyed it. An incredibly fun and charming Christmas story!

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does a fair job with the characters, but drags a bit, and isn't nearly Christmas-y enough.

[happylittlebirdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

[Lan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh toad.

[Mae Leveson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book but I found the opening chapters very slow and almost put the book aside without finishing it. I felt the second half of the book was better and quite enjoyed it although, like some other reviews I read, I found that Christmas didn’t really feature much in the story.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

With his book "The wind in the willows" Graham greated a book in which the animals are not really animals at all. They are physically of course, but they are dressed as humans, living like humans ( despite the Badger lives in the Wild Wood, Ratty on the River Bank and Mole at Mole End and Toad at Toad Hall - which is a very huge and expensive estate) and living with humans and speaking the same language as this would be normal. Well this sounds weird at first and if anybody would have told me about such a book I doubt I would have ever read it. But what can I say, it definitely works here.
Maybe it is because it is a child book, written for childs and that makes it all working. What would the literature be without the good child books, where everything is possible, no boundaries to the story,where you can slip into another world and dreaming away. Those who never have read some good child book , never plunged into the world of the kids, had definitely missed something very special.
It is very easy for me to drop into something like that and I love to read such kind of books from time to time. Well maybe not everybody is made for this, I guess thats why I was a passionate child care worker , you must be capable to remove your adult soul , or shut them up in a box and embark in the world of the children.

Well the Willows at Christmas is set just after the events of Grahams Wind in the Willows but before of the events of The Willows in Winter, the first sequal of Horwoods books. And also in this book Horwood was successful to write a story without giving the main figures another character. Reading the book was like I never was away from the Willows , I just read the first lines and bloop - I`m into it again.
Christmas is knocking on the door, and the Mole wants desperatly celebrate it with all his friends , of course including Mr. Toad. But Mr. Toad has a visitor , as every year during the holiday, which is a very unpleasant one and makes the most beloved season of the year very horrible for the old chap.
So before the friends can celebrate christmas and the holidays , a very crumpy , patronizing nanny has to be eliminated, and of course, how can it be not, the Mole and Mr. Toad end up in jail and it is to their friends Mr. Badger, Ratty and Otter to invent a plan for there flight.
But it all went out fine , the friends enjoying the time together and additionaly , at the end, the Mole get some pleasant , unexpected visit from his sister :)

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from Badelynge
Back in the 90s William Horwood wrote three pastiche books that featured the best loved characters from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. I really enjoyed them. Each book saw these characters mature until by the third book I suspected that Horwood would reboot the series by introducing a next generation of River Bank characters. This didn't happen. Three years passed before he was to revisit Mr. Toad, Mr. Mole and company. When first published after such a lengthy hiatus The Willows at Christmas flew swiftly under my radar, until now. In the hope of having some pleasingly seasonal reading material over the festive period I ordered a copy. Horwood has rolled back time to not long after K.Grahame's classic and prequelling his own trilogy.
Mr. Mole is dismayed to discover that the spirit of Christmas has been lost by the riverbankers and the nearby village. He sets out to try to rediscover it. The early scenes with Mole investigating the causes of the lack of festivity are the best. Miss Bugle's sad little Christmas witnessed by the ever lovable Mole almost had me reaching for the handkerchief and for a mind boggling moment had me hoping for a little inter-species romance. The later sections of the book slide more into the sorts of situations that Mr. Toad's foolishness often resulted in the original. The threat of incarceration and execution should surely be familiar to Mr. Toad. Patrick Benson's rustic little line drawings and beautiful coloured plates complement the writing perfectly. Very good but never really replaces the original book in your heart but for those wishing to spend time with such beloved characters for a little bit longer you really can't go far wrong with this book and the three that preceded it.

[Emma Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child and now as an adult with children, each of us have enjoyed the much loved tale of 'The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. William Horwood has carried on Grahame's delightful tales with the "Tales of the Willows" series of which 'Willows at Christmas' is the first (although actually published last in 1999), followed on by 'The Willows in Winter' (published 1993), 'Toad Triumphant" (published 1995) and the last in the series 'The Willows and Beyond' (published 1996).

Horwood captures the essence of the original and the hardback books contain delightful illustrations with a mix of both black and white and full colour illustrations by Patrick Benson.

Whilst Horwood's work in carrying on the tales of the riverbank has been a delight to read both myself and my children thought there was too much allocation of the story on the ordeal of the capture of Toad and Mole in 'The Willows at Christmas". The trauma and the barbaric early justice approach was not appealing to us, we all preferred the storyline revolving on the adventures, camaraderie, trials and tribulations of the animals in the Wild Wood and along the River Bank.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok time to leave the willows once more and this time on a little of a disappointed note. Ok i still cling to the excuse that I got these to read to my son years ago (he is now 12 and forever trying to send them to the charity shops) but the previous books were even though written in the style of the first most clearly were new additions - new chapters to the adventures where this one reads (and is indeed set) just after the events in Wind in the Willows. And that i am not sure does not feel as comfortable or as easy flowing as the others. This i think was the last of the new books to be written and i am not sure if it suffers for that. The characters are all there and the feel of it just not the welcoming embrace of returning to something so familiar as it was when i picked up the other volumes. I wonder if time and re-reading this like the other titles will soften my view like all childhood story books do.

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

What to say about this fairly recent trend of writing sequels to classic novels of the early 20th century? Actually, I quite enjoy it. Even if William Horwood is not the writer that Kenneth Grahame was (and, by definition, he couldn't be, and nor is he Grahame's equal in ability, although that is no disgrace) yet it was a joy to spend more time with Mole, Rat, Badger and Mr Toad. Horwood does a good job of mimicking their speech patterns and the general writing matches well to Grahame's original, at least in those sections were Grahame revelled in knockabout humour and narrative. What the new novel lacks is The Wind in the Willows unique blend of episodes, mixing the English landscape mysticism of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn chapter with the Dickensian romp of Toad's escape from prison. Mind you, the fact that The Wind in the Willows works at all is something of a miracle; the elements shouldn't really fit together. And yet they do...

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really nice entry into the world of the Wind and the Willows, which has been continued by William Horwood. He does a pretty good job at bring these classic characters back to life. He continues the plotline of Toad doing something wrong, going to jail, and then getting rescued by his close friends that he often neglects. In this story, Mole wants to recreate the joy of Christmas he used to have, but no one else seems interested in it. Toad has to entertain Mrs. Fleshe, a cantankerous old bat who makes his life miserable for a couple weeks each year. She gets him tossed into jail to be punished in the medieval style, but of course he is rescued by his friends. I've got a lot of nostalgia for these characters, so I really enjoy reading further adventures with them.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my children over the Christmas period and they loved it.

Mole was their favourite character due to his kindness, loyal friendship and his ability to keep Toad's spirits up while in gaol. Drystan particularly liked how it all worked out in the end and the appearance of Groat.

My children's ages are 6, 8 and 10 and I enjoyed reading it out loud.