A moving biography of Kenneth Grahame, author of the children’s classic The Wind in the Willows, and of the vision of English pastoral life that inspired it. During his regular days in London, Kenneth Grahame sat behind a mahogany desk as Secretary of the Bank of England; on weekends he retired to the house in the country that he shared with his fanciful wife, Elspeth, and their fragile son, Alistair, and took lengthy walks along the Thames in Berkshire, "tempted by the treasures of hedge and ditch; the rapt surprise of the first lords-and-ladies, the rustle of a field-mouse, the splash of a frog." The result of these pastoral wanderings was his masterful creation of The Wind in the Willows, the enduring classic of children's literature; a cautionary tale for adult readers; a warning of the fragility of the English countryside; and an expression of fear at threatened social changes that, in the aftermath of the World War I, became a reality. Like its remarkable author, the book balances maverick tendencies with conservatism. Kenneth Grahame was an Edwardian pantheist whose work has a timeless appeal, an escapist whose withdrawal from reality took the form of time travel into his own past.

Kenneth Grahame’s most famous works are collected in one large book. This edition also includes a biography Grahame. The collection includes the following books: Dream Days The Golden Age The Headswoman Pagan Papers The Wind In the Willows

The 'Golden Age of Illustration' refers to a period customarily defined as lasting from the latter quarter of the nineteenth century, until just after the First World War. In this period of no more than fifty years the popularity, abundance and most importantly the unprecedented upsurge in the quality of illustrated books marked an astounding change in the way that publishers, artists and the general public came to view this hitherto insufficiently esteemed art form.

This is the biography of the life, times and countryside of the rather sad and curious author of 'The wind in the willows'. He was the youngest Secretary of the Bank of England and yet lived in a dream world, creating wonderful stories.

The British author Kenneth Grahame is celebrated for creating ‘The Wind in the Willows’, one of the most beloved tales of classic children’s literature. He also wrote ‘The Reluctant Dragon’, as well as endearing short stories and thought-provoking essays. This comprehensive eBook presents Grahame’s complete works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Grahame’s life and works * Concise introductions to the texts * All the tales and essays, fully illustrated, with individual contents tables * Includes rare works appearing for the first time in digital publishing, including BERTIE’S ESCAPADE * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Famous works such as ‘The Wind in the Willows’ are fully illustrated (Paul Bransom) with the original artwork * Includes Grahame’s rare non-fiction work, FIRST WHISPER OF ‘THE WIND OF THE WILLOWS’ – available in no other collection * Features two biographies, including Chalmers’ seminal work - discover Grahame’s literary life * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles CONTENTS: The Children’s Books THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS THE CAMBRIDGE BOOK OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN BERTIE’S ESCAPADE The Short Story Collections PAGAN PAPERS THE GOLDEN AGE DREAM DAYS THE HEADSWOMAN The Non-Fiction FIRST WHISPER OF ‘THE WIND OF THE WILLOWS’ The Biographies KENNETH GRAHAME LIFE LETTERS AND UNPUBLISHED WORK by Patrick Chalmers THE CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE: KENNETH GRAHAME by W. M. Parker Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

During his regular days in London, Kenneth Grahame sat behind a mahogany desk as Secretary of the Bank of England; on weekends he retired to the house in the country that he shared with his fanciful wife, Elspeth, and their fragile son, Alistair, and took lengthy walks along the Thames in Berkshire, "tempted by the treasures of hedge and ditch; the rapt surprise of the first lords-and-ladies, the rustle of a field-mouse, the splash of a frog."The result of these pastoral wanderings was his masterful creation of The Wind in the Willows, the enduring classic of children's literature; a cautionary tale for adult readers; a warning of the fragility of the English countryside; and an expression of fear at threatened social changes that, in the aftermath of the World War I, became a reality. Like its remarkable author, the book balances maverick tendencies with conservatism. Kenneth Grahame was an Edwardian pantheist whose work has a timeless appeal, an escapist whose withdrawal from reality took the form of time travel into his own past.

The Wind in the Willows needs no introduction - children have enjoyed the exploits of its characters for generations. Few would guess that its author, Kenneth Grahame, was a tortured soul. Marriage to the predatory Elspeth Thomson, when both seemed destined for the single life, was a shared fantasy of invented truth. Out of that union came a catastrophically spoiled son, 'Mouse', for whom that greatest of children's stories was written. It was the child's tragedy that he was sucked into the unreality of his parents' lives and did not survive it, ending his life in suicide. Alison Prince brings her own highly acclaimed expertise as a children's writer to this remarkably perceptive biography of Kenneth Grahame. Drawing on hitherto unpublished material she uncovers layer upon layer of Grahame's personality to reveal the truth behind the myth of this intriguing man, 'the tortured soul of Mr Toad'. 'Alison Prince describes the grim story of Grahame's marriage and fatherhood squarely and sensitively.' Independent 'A meaty, well-constructed biography.' Allan Massie Daily Telegraph

A moving biography of Kenneth Grahame, author of the children's classic The Wind in the Willows, and of the vision of English pastoral life that inspired it.

In Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows: A Children's Classic at 100, editors Jackie C. Horne and Donna R. White have assembled a collection of essays that look at the book in terms of class, gender and nationality, as well as its construction of heteronormative masculinity, the very English novel's appeal to Chinese readers, and the meaning of a text in which animals can be human-like, pets, servants, and even food.