ABSTRACT
The Wind in the Willows, published in 1908, was the outcome of Kenneth Grahame writing down the stories which he had told his son; products of his own upbringing near the River Thames and time spent, like Ratty, ‘messing about in boats’. The novel is anthropomorphic, and it is the aspect of animals taking on human personalities and behaviours which is part of the book’s attraction. Mole is hesitant and unassuming, the impetuous Ratty drives ideas forward, Badger is taciturn but leads with wisdom and pomposity, Toad bounces through the narrative with infectious enthusiasm for each of his latest crazes, while Weasel provides the baddie element.
