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William Horwood biography

William Horwood is an English author born in Oxford on the 12th of May 1944. He was brought up on the south-east coast of England and attended Bristol University where he graduated with a degree in Geography. The works for which he is best known are the best-selling Duncton Mole trilogies and the sequels to Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.

Horwood worked as a teacher, journalist and news reporter during a varied career before the publication of Duncton Wood in 1980. The book became an international bestseller and he has not looked back since. The Duncton and Willows books are loved by both children and adults alike and draw favourable comparisons with Richard Adam's Watership Down.

I was a fan from the age of eight and I discovered them because my mum read them to me. She was brought up in Oxford and Kenneth Graham was very much an Oxford person so there was that connection and I always loved the stories, his ideas and so on.
William Horwood on The Wind in The Willows during an interview with Harper Collins.

The Duncton books consisted of two trilogies, The Duncton Chronicles and The Book of Silence, and where written between 1980 and 1993. The books follow the magical and spiritual journeys of a community of moles belonging to the Duncton Wood system.

But then again when I finished the first Duncton book I swore I’d never write another Duncton book again and now there are five more.
William Horwood interview with Harper Collins.

William Horwood's other notable works include The Stonor Eagles, Callanish and Skallagrigg.

The Duncton Chronicles - inspiration and acknowledgement

William Horwood bibliography

Duncton Wood (1980)
Duncton Quest (1988)
Duncton Found (1989)
Duncton Tales (1991)
Duncton Rising (1993)
Duncton Stone (1993)
The Willows in Winter (1993)
Toad Triumphant (1995)
The Willows and Beyond (1996)
Mole Gets Lost (1997)
Flying into Danger (1997)
Toad in Trouble (1997)
Willows at Christmas (1998)

William Horwood interviews

An interview with book publishers Harper Collins on writing the sequels to Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/authors/interview.aspx?aid=2747&id=255

William Horwood critical acclaim

"An absolute spell-binder, by Lord of the Rings out of Watership Down. I found it enchanting, compulsive reading ... I am still haunted by its beauty" Magnus Magnusson

"His mole empire is a delight, his romantic tale full of adventure, suspense, battle and searchings" Publishers Weekly

"Altogether, Duncton Wood is a breathtaking achievement" Washington Post