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  • Published: 1 December 2005
  • ISBN: 9780812973655
  • Imprint: Random House US Group
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $45.00

The Wind in the Willows




The classic adventures of Grahame's beloved creatures, Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad, continue to thrill generations of readers--a perfect fit for the Modern Library Paperback Classics series.

“The boastful, unstable Toad, the hospitable Water Rat, the shy, wise, childlike Badger, and the Mole with his pleasant habit of brave boyish impulse,” noted Vanity Fair nearly a century ago, “are types of that deeper humanity which sways us all.” Written by Kenneth Grahame as bedtime stories for his son, The Wind in the Willows continues to delight readers today.

Basing his fanciful animal characters on human archetypes, Grahame imparts a gentle, playful wisdom in his timeless tales. Few readers will be able to resist an invitation to join the Wild Wooders at Toad Hall, enjoy a quick splash in the river with Rat and Badger, or take a swerving ride with Toad in a “borrowed” motor-car. This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the first illustrated American edition of 1913.

  • Published: 1 December 2005
  • ISBN: 9780812973655
  • Imprint: Random House US Group
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $45.00

Other books in the series

On Sparta
Love
Annals
Military Dispatches

About the author

Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh on 8 March 1859. He was brought up by his grandmother in Cookham Dene in Berkshire and went to school in Oxford before starting work at the Bank of England. He was unable to go to university because of his family's lack of money.

His stories and essays were initially published in periodicals such as the Yellow Book and then collected together as Pagan Papers (1893). This was followed by The Golden Age (1895) and Dream Days (1898).

The Wind in the Willows (1908) is based on letters and stories that Graham made for his only child, Alistair. The novel's popularity grew slowly over the years and A.A. Milne's dramatisation of the novel as Toad of Toad Hall brought it greater success. Kenneth Grahame died on 6 July 1932.

Also by Kenneth Grahame

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Praise for The Wind in the Willows

"The Wind in the Willows... [is] a book which everybody in the household loves, and quotes continually; a book which is read aloud to every new guest and is regarded as the touchstone of his worth."--A. A. Milne