For wealthy English landowners (which the novel’s four main animal characters represent), leisure activities (like boating, hunting, and riding horses) were extremely important. The era also saw a renewed interest in the Greek demigod Pan, who goes unnamed but makes an appearance in the novel. It’s also possible to read The Wind in the Willows as a response to rapid industrialization in the latter half of the 19th century (it’s sometimes considered a pastoral novel, or one that portrays rural life as simple and happy, with nature presented as superior to urban environments). During this time, artists and writers alike were inspired by the rising popularity of the automobile and the development of electricity. This is something historians often attribute to how devastating World War I was, and how wonderful the time before looked in comparison. Though the era featured major income inequality (wealthy landowners became wealthier, while working-class people’s fortunes didn’t improve nearly as much), in popular culture it’s often portrayed as more idyllic than it actually was. The Edwardian era spans King Edward VII’s reign from 1901 to 1910. Written between 19, The Wind in the Willows greatly reflects the English Edwardian era in which it was written. When Grahame died in 1932, he was buried in the same grave as his son. Historians and biographers suggest that Grahame never fully recovered after Alistair committed suicide at age 19 in 1920. The Wind in the Willows has since become one of the most beloved works of children’s literature, and it has been translated into a number of languages and adapted for the screen and stage on several occasions. These letters eventually became The Wind in the Willows, which Grahame published right after his retirement. Just before his retirement, Grahame and his wife took a trip-and Alistair agreed to stay home with his nanny, provided Grahame wrote him letters with bedtime stories. Grahame retired in 1908, and many believe he retired because he was almost killed in a shooting incident at work several years earlier. During his time at the bank he married Elspeth Thompson they had one son, Alistair, who suffered from a variety of health conditions. They got him a job with the Bank of England, where he worked for almost 30 years. Though Grahame was a good student and wanted to attend University of Oxford, his father and grandmother wouldn’t let him go due to the cost of tuition.
Grahame’s grandmother lived in a spacious but run-down house near the River Thames biographers believe that it was Grahame’s grandmother’s home that inspired the setting of The Wind in the Willows. At this point, Grahame’s father, a lawyer and an alcoholic, sent his four children to live with their maternal grandmother. When he was five years old, his mother died of complications after childbirth.
Grahame’s early life was both tragic and idyllic.
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