Kenneth Grahame Short post

Kenneth Grahame was born in Scotland in 1859. His mother died when he was small and his father was an alcoholic, so he and his siblings were moved to England, to live with their grandparents. He spent time in a big old house near a river in Berkshire, which gave him the inspiration for Wind in the Willows. He went to a school in Oxford and was a bright pupil but his family were not that well off due to his father’s drinking. (His father had been a lawyer). He was not able to go to Oxford University, due to a shortage of money.. but he was placed in a job in the Bank of England. He worked his way up to a high position in the Bank, and did some writing in his spare time. However he was a rather odd man and reclusive. He left the Bank with a small pension. He married Elspeth Thomson. The couple wrote to each other in very smothering “baby talk” which seems to signify an odd relationship. They had one child Alistair, whom they called “Mouse” and he suffered from health problems for much of his life. He was also a difficult spoiled child and when he went to University, he didn’t do well there. Tragically, he committed suicide…by lying down on a railway line. Kenneth told stories to the young Alistair about life on the river – which became the basis for Wind in the Willows. Mr Toad with his arrogant bumptious personality was probably inspired by Alistair as a child, as he was naughty and difficult.