Kenneth Grahame, creator of one of the most celebrated works of classic literature for children, was born on March 8, 1859.
Grahame was a Scottish essayist and children’s story writer who wrote the children’s classic The Wind in the Willows, stories of little Mole, willful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they’ve become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship.
As an adult, Kenneth Grahame was constantly pulled between two extremes: part of him wanted to escape the ties of domesticity and wander the highways and byways as a free spirit, while the other part longed for nothing more than the cosiness of the hearth. This tension lies at the heart of all his work, but it’s at its most apparent – and most engaging – in The Wind in the Willows. Happy Birthday Kenneth Grahame!