Originally published in 1908 by British novelist Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows has become one of the most beloved and admired classics of children’s literature. The novel follows the adventures of the mild-mannered Mole and his friend Rat, who emerge from their winter’s slumber to explore the Springtime world, encountering the sedate and businesslike Badger as well as the wild and impulsive Mr. Toad of Toad Hall, who cannot seem to avoid mishaps and run-ins with the police.
At times a charming, pastoral story of life in the British countryside and a rollicking adventure with car chases and fast-paced action, The Wind in the Willows never fails to be mentioned among the finest children’s books of all time, adapted countless times for the stage and screen.
It is presented here in its unabridged and original format.
Giới thiệu về tác giả
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. After the untimely death of their mother when Grahame and his three siblings were very young, Grahame’s father – who had a drinking problem – gave his four children over to their grandmother to raise, where they lived in a huge, rundown house called ‘The Mount’ in Berkshire. The house was very near the Thames River and the children became acquainted with river life and boating through their uncle, David Ingles, the curate at Cookham Dean church.After the chimney collapsed at The Mount during Christmas of 1865, the family moved to Fern Hill Cottage in Cranbourne, Berkshire. After a failed attempt to reunite the children with their father in 1866, the children returned to live with their grandmother again until they each entered school. Kenneth started at St Edward’s School, Oxford, in 1868. Thwarted from attending Oxford University due to the high cost, Grahame began work at the Bank of England and rose to become Secretary of the Bank until his retirement due to ill-health in 1908, the same year The Wind and the Willows was published.Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899, when he was 40 years old. The following year, Elspeth gave birth to their only child, Alastair (nicknamed ‘Mouse’), we was born premature, blind in one eye and who suffered from severe health problems all his life. To comfort the often bedridden child, Grahame began making up bedtime stories, eventually spinning elaborate tales about the denizens of his countryside adventures, featuring the characters of Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad.Though he published two fairly successful books of short stories prior to 1908, it was not until the release of The Wind in the Willows that Grahame received international acclaim. Since then, the story has been adapted multiple times to the stage and screen and still enjoys a wide popularity as one of the finest children’s books ever written. Grahame died in 1932.
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