Bøker av Kenneth Grahame

With the arrival of spring the good-natured Mole loses patience with spring cleaning. He flees his underground home, and meets Rat who teaches Mole how to use a row boat. The two friends team up with Badger and Toad, and go on many adventures.

The Wind in the Willows By Kenneth GrahameThe Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternatingly slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals: Mole, Rat (a European water vole), Toad, and Badger. They live in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley.In 1908, Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Berkshire, where he had lived as a child, and spent his time by the River Thames, doing much as the animal characters in his book do - to quote, "simply messing about in boats" - and expanding the bedtime stories he had earlier told his son Alastair into a manuscript for the book.The novel was in its 31st printing when playwright A. A. Milne adapted part of it for the stage as Toad of Toad Hall in 1929. In 1949, the first film adaptation was produced by Walt Disney as one of two segments in the package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.In 2003, The Wind in the Willows was listed at #16 in the BBC's survey The Big Read. More than a century after its original publication, it was adapted again for the stage, as a 2014 musical by Julian Fellowes.Kenneth Grahame was born on 8 March 1859 in Edinburgh. When he was 5, his mother died from puerperal fever, and his father, who had a drinking problem, gave the care of his four children over to their grandmother, who lived in Cookham Dean in Berkshire. There they lived in a spacious but dilapidated home, The Mount, in extensive grounds by the River Thames, and were introduced to the riverside and boating by their uncle, David Ingles, curate at Cookham Dean church.At Christmas 1865 the chimney of the house collapsed and the children moved to Fern Hill Cottage in Cranbourne, Berkshire. In 1866, their father tried to overcome his drinking problem and took the children back to live with him in Argyll, Scotland, but after a year they returned to their grandmother's house in Cranbourne, where Kenneth lived until he entered St Edward's School, Oxford in 1868. During his early years at St. Edwards the boys were free to explore the old city with its quaint shops, historic buildings, and cobbled streets, St Giles' Fair, the idyllic upper reaches of the River Thames, and the nearby countryside.Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899, when he was 40 the next year they had their only child, a boy named Alastair (whose nickname was "Mouse") born premature, blind in one eye, and plagued by health problems throughout his life.

The Headswoman (1898) is a story by Kenneth Grahame. Although less popular than The Wind in the Willows (1908), which would go on to become not only a defining work of Edwardian English literature, but one of the most popular works of children¿s fiction in the world, The Headswoman is a humorous story of tradition and bureaucracy that brilliantly satirizes the ongoing debate around women¿s suffrage.In the town of St. Radegonde, following the death of the local executioner, it has become necessary to make the role available to the man¿s only daughter. Although Jeanne would be the first woman to hold the position, an occurrence sure to be controversial, bureaucratic tradition demands to be upheld. Rejecting an offer to let her cousin, Enguerrand, become executioner instead, Jeanne is appointed to the role and begins her work the very next morning. Eager and capable, Jeanne has a calming effect on the men sent to her to die. But when a prominent aristocrat falls in love with the diligent young woman, her newfound independence and hard-won respect fall prey to the power of romance. The Headswoman is a satirical story set in the middle ages but aimed at a contemporary audience. Published during the early stages of the women¿s suffrage movement, the story envisions a world in which a woman is granted the right to fully participate in the formation and maintenance of authority. With cunning wit and sly references to nineteenth century life, The Headswoman seems to ask what equality would look like for women in a system dependent upon its opposite.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Kenneth Grahame¿s The Headswoman is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

Dream Days (1898) is a collection of children¿s stories by Kenneth Grahame. It was published as a sequel to The Golden Age (1895), a collection of semi-autobiographical stories reflecting on the nature of childhood and the strange, distant lives of adults. Although less popular than The Wind in the Willows (1908), which would go on to become not only a defining work of Edwardian English literature, but one of the most popular works of children¿s fiction in the world, Dream Days features ¿The Reluctant Dragon,¿ one of Grahame¿s most enduring short works of fiction.Carrying on the themes and concerns of The Golden Age, the author reflects on his youth among elders who exemplified Victorian values of stoicism and quiet decency. In these stories of innocence and experience, he recalls the games they played, the places they discovered, and the legends they made of the normal, the boring, and the everyday wonders of an old world seen through young eyes. ¿The Reluctant Dragon,¿ the centerpiece of Dream Days, is a story about a young boy who discovers a wise, poetry-loving dragon while exploring the Berkshire Downs near his home in Oxfordshire. Against all appearances, the two sensitive souls become fast friends. When the townspeople discover the dragon, however, they send for the legendary St. George to slay the creature they see as a threat. Faced with the loss of his only friend in the world, the young boy must convince St. George to not only spare the dragon¿s life, but to convince the townspeople of his kind and gentle nature. Dream Days is a collection of stories for children which finds room for fantasy and adventure in the smallest of places, and kindness in the largest of hearts.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Kenneth Grahame¿s Dream Days is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

One of the best-loved children's books of all time is updated for a new generation in a beautifully designed gift edition liberally illustrated by David Roberts. The story begins when Mole abandons his spring cleaning to explore the world beyond his burrow. He scurries down to the riverbank, where he meets Ratty and discovers a carefree world of picnics and messing about in boats. There are adventures ahead, in the company of reckless Mr. Toad, and dangers, when the two friends venture into the Wild Wood to visit Mr. Badger. And there are events that test the friendship of the four animals to the limits, but through it all they retain their loyalty and good humor. Generations have fallen in love with Kenneth Grahame's enduring story -- and here, in a sumptuous new gift edition stunningly illustrated by David Roberts, The Wind in the Willows stands poised to capture young readers' hearts anew.

"There's nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as messing about in boats....

With the arrival of spring and fine weather outside, the good-natured Mole loses patience with spring cleaning. He flees his underground home, emerging to take in the air and ends up at the river, which he has never seen before. Here he meets Rat (a water vole), who at this time of year spends all his days in, on and close by the river. Rat takes Mole for a ride in his rowing boat. They get along well and spend many more days boating, with Rat teaching Mole the ways of the river.... The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie.