The Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Squirrels and rabbits, who are generally good-natured (although rabbits are described as "a mixed lot"). The most popular illustrations are probably by E. H. Shepard, originally published in 1931, and believed to be authorised as Grahame was pleased with the initial sketches, although he did not live to see the completed work. [5]

The song "Power Flower" on Stevie Wonder's 1979 album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants", co-written with Michael Sembello, mentions "the piper at the gates of dawning". Wind in the Willows is an elegant parable about class struggle, about the dangers of decadant country-house-living in the face of powerful revolutionary forces.

Pictured right: EH Shepard illustration of Ratty and Mole on the river from the 1931 edition of Wind in the Willows. Inhabitants of the Wild Wood: weasels, stoats, and foxes who are described by Ratty as "All-right in a way but well, you can't really trust them". The Wind in the Willows is quintessentially English, and moreover very Edwardian. As we have seen, it is very concerned with correct form, and good manners; with what is required to be an upright jolly good fellow. We recognise the English traits of pomposity and bluster, a certain reserve, a sense of decency, a “stiff upper lip” in the face of danger, a dry and understated sense of humour, a sense of the ridiculous and absurd, and an enjoyment of adventure. The whole is imbued with a love of Nature and the English countryside, with lyrical passages which are quite beautiful. The whole is a paean to the English countryside, and Kenneth Grahame repeatedly shows his views of the superiority of country life over city life. Nevertheless, on a snowy winter's day, while the seasonally somnolent Rat dozes, Mole impulsively goes to the Wild Wood to explore, hoping to meet Badger. He gets lost in the woods, sees many "evil faces" among the wood's less-welcoming denizens, succumbs to fright and panic and hides, trying to stay warm, among the sheltering roots of a tree. ...

It seems very possible that Kenneth Grahame was gay, despite having a wife and child. This was a time when homosexual acts were still illegal. The novel can be read as having a gay subtext, and passages such as the description of the ancient Greek god of the wild, Pan, are quite sensuous, with descriptions of his “rippling muscles”. One academic, Professor Hunt, the emeritus professor in English and children’s literature at Cardiff University, suggests that the works were manifestations of a life which Kenneth Grahame longed for. Whether this is conscious or not, it is noticeably “a story of maleness and male companionship”, with hardly a female in sight. The only exceptions are the washerwoman, the barge woman and the jailer’s daughter. All of these are secondary characters, and perhaps even more significantly, they are human, not animal. Barnes & Noble Classics featured an introduction by Gardner McFall in 2007. New York, ISBN 978-1-59308-265-9 It's about the forest adventures of the comrades rat and mole, luncheons, dinner parties, forest gala setting and hubbub, the vanity and conceited adventures of Mr. Toad and the sagacity of our revered Badger. All are gallivanting around in the forest, a pure joyride! Hunt, Peter (1994). The Wind in the Willows: A Fragmented Arcadia. New York: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8057-8816-7.

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2017) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) In The Simpsons 1998 episode " Lisa Gets an 'A' " (season 10, episode 7; AABF03), Lisa neglects to complete her Wind in the Willows reading homework and subsequently has to cheat on a pop-quiz. As you might imagine, like most children's stories, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS does end on an "all's well that ends well" note but Toad's behaviour in the future remains an obvious open question. Highly recommended ... what TOOK me so long to find this one? Born in Sussex but brought up in Australia from the age of eight, Moore feels a powerful attachment to the English countryside. Her school in ­Adelaide had an impressive library where all the children's books (mostly British) were uniformly leather bound. At 14 her favourite was Boswell's account of Dr Johnson's travels in the Hebrides.

The Wind in the Willows [14] by George Stiles, Anthony Drewe and Julian Fellowes which opened at Theatre Royal Plymouth in October 2016 before playing at The Lowry, Salford, and then later the London Palladium in the West End. What's wrong is everyone is male, there are no female animals, just a society of men. An idyll of an ideal society

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The young Kenneth did well at school, and dreamed of going to university. He was actually offered a place at the prestigious Oxford University, and was set for high academic honours, but it was not to be. The family finances had dwindled so much that his father wanted him go into a profession straight from school. Kenneth Grahame was therefore forced straight into work at the Bank of England, and duly worked there for thirty years, gradually rising through the ranks to become its Secretary. In 1908, the year The Wind in the Willows was published, he took early retirement.