Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer famous for his stories ‘The Wind in the Willows‘ (1908) and the ‘Reluctant Dragon’.
Grahame was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 8 March. As a young child, his mother died of Scarlet fever. His father was also an alcoholic so he was sent away to be looked after by elderly relatives.
He excelled as a student at St Edward’s School in Oxford. However, his uncle didn’t want to pay his fees for going to Oxford University. Therefore, Kenneth Grahame moved to the Bank of England where he gained employment as a clerk. He later rose to be secretary and spent all his working life in the Bank of England.
Kenneth Grahame had three siblings Willie, Helen and Roland.
Kenneth worked at the Bank of England, beginning in 1879. He eventually retired in 1908 with the position of Secretary. It is believed that a shooting incident ended his career at the bank, when a bank director shot at Kenneth three times and missed.
In 1899 Kenneth Grahame married Elspeth Thompson, two years after they first met. They had a son Alastair. Alastair was born blind on one eye and had health problems all his life, which ended tragically when he was only 20 years old.
Dream Days was the second short story collection published by Kenneth Grahame, in 1898.
When they were published, both Dream Days and The Golden Age were highly acclaimed.
Kenneth Grahame published The Headswoman in 1898.
The Wind in the Willows was commercially successful at first, but not critically successful.
Kenneth Grahame died in Berkshire in 1932 at the age of 73.
The Wind in the Willows has been adapted to stage, film, and television.
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