Kenneth Grahame biography
Kenneth Grahame was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 8 March 1859. Excelling in both academic and sports pursuits whilst attending St. Edward's School in Oxford, Grahame did not continue on with his dream of a university education due to financial constraints. In 1879 Grahame obtained a position within the Bank of England as a gentleman clerk but he found the routine so dulling that, from his rooms on Bloomsbury Street, turned his pen to writing stories. His first published story was titled By A Northern Furrow (1888), and his most famous short story is, still, "The Reluctant Dragon" (1898).
Grahame's works The Golden Age (1895) and it's sequel Dream Days (1898) were met with critical acclaim. A year after Grahame was appointed secretary of the Bank of England and he married Elspeth Thomson, with whom he had a son, Alastair. Through his works, Grahame re-created the idyllic and fantastical times from his own childhood and hoped to entertain his son and other children with them for children are "the only really living people".
Due to health problems, Grahame retired from the bank in 1907 and the family moved to the countryside in Blewbury. This gave Grahame time to travel and concentrate on his writing efforts, and The Wind in the Willows was published just a year later. A few years later, on 7 May 1920, Alastair was found dead by railway tracks near Oxford, possibly having committed suicide. Grahame was profoundly grieved and became reclusive.
Kenneth Grahame died at his home on the 6th of July 1932, at the age of 73. He now rests with his wife and son in the St. Cross Church cemetery in Oxford, England. His headstone reads "To the beautiful memory of Kenneth Grahame, husband of Elspeth and father of Alastair, who passed the River on 6 July 1932, leaving childhood and literature through him more blest for all time."
Kenneth Grahame books
- Pagan Papers (1893)
- The Golden Age (1895)
- Dream Days (1898)
- The Headswoman (1898)
- The Wind in the Willows (1908)
Latest news: Kenneth Grahame
First edition of The Wind in the Willows a star lot at Bonhams
A first edition of the much loved children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows, inscribed by Kenneth Grahame to the daughter of the man who inspired the character of Ratty, is among the star lots offered at Bonhams Printed Books, Maps and Manuscripts sale at New Bond Street on 23 March. The estimate [...]
Colfer and Benedictus are rewarded for their courage
Eoin Colfer and David Benedictus both deserve medals for bravery. In having the pluck to step into the shoes of the national treasure’s that are Douglas Adams and AA Milne they have put themselves on a pedestal that people were trying to knock them off before they had even written a word. William Ho [...]
More on the Kenneth Grahame biopic
The troubled life of the author who has captivated generations of readers with The Wind In The Willows is to be brought to the big screen. Banking On Mr Toad will use private archives to explore Kenneth Grahame’s unconventional relationship with his wife Elspeth and his career at the Bank of Englan [...]
Laughing librarians, Vatican thumbs up and Kenneth Grahame biopic
The following is a round up of the most recent and best fantasy-related stories. Neil Gaiman, winner of the Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008), cracked up the roomful of librarians and publishers when he spoke of growing up in England as “a feral child who was raised in libra [...]
Shenley Walled Gardens presents The Wind in the Willows
Toad, Ratty, Mole and Badger will be at Shenley Walled Gardens for a production of children's classic Wind in the Willows this weekend. The book by Kenneth Grahame will be brought to life on Saturday by theatre company Heartbreak Productions. The adventure story will see the four unlikely heroes b [...]
Basajaun by Rosemary van Deuren
Blood versus fear. Folklore versus mysticism. Animal versus man.
In the world of the rabbits, she is hailed as a saviour. In the world of men, a holy man wants her dead. She is twelve years old.
In an isolated European farm town in 1906, a Pastor known as ‘the rabbit killer’ is preaching that [...]
Kenneth Grahame at Home in Maidenhead
A local view of life in The Wind in the Willows can be enjoyed at Herries School in Cookham Dean on Sunday at 3pm. Kenneth Grahame At Home has been devised by Jean Hedger from material concerning the Grahame family and readings from the children's classic Wind in the Willows. The school was the sam [...]
If at first you don’t succeed…
The Examiner takes a fascinating look at the author’s who went on to large-scale success despite initial rejections. They feature extracts from the rejection letters themselves. Here is a selective list of the books, click on the link below it to read about the topic in greater detail. Carrie by [...]
Royal books go on display at Bodleian
Books once owned by four medieval and Tudor queens went on display at the Bodleian Library in Oxford to celebrate World Book Day. Staff at the world-famous Oxford University library showed the books owned by St Margaret of Scotland, Queen Eleanor of Castile, Queen Catherine Parr and Queen Elizabeth [...]
Wind in the Willows at Hyde Heath Village Hall
The exciting and often hair-raising adventures of Toad - from Toad Hall - are brought to life in spectacular fashion by Hyde Heath Drama Group in their latest production, The Wind in the Willows [link to book review by AA Milne]. Written by John Morley, this musical play for all the family is based [...]
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Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill
Some doors are better left closed . . . In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.
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Competition: Win a signed copy of Graham Hancock's Entangled
Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heaven's Mirror, Supernatural and other bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. Written with the same page-turning appeal that has made his non-fiction so popular, Entangled is his first work of fiction. We have five signed copies of Entangled to give away as prizes. Email us the answer to the following question and the lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a copy of the book, signed by the author.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
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