The Wind in the Willows
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The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame. The story is alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, focussing on three animal characters in a bucolic version of England. It was illustrated by E. H. Shepard. The book is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality and camaraderie. It gives as much pleasure to adult readers as to child readers although for rather different reasons.
The book made Grahame's fortune, enabling him to retire from his hated (though respectable and well-paid) bank job and retire to the country, pretty much doing what the animal characters in this book do.
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Characters
- Mole – mild-mannered
- Water Rat (or Ratty) – loves the river
- Otter – friend of Ratty
- Portly – son of Otter
- Badger – powerful yet solitary
- Toad – mischievous estate-owner
- The Magistrate
- The Court Clerk
- The Gaoler
- The Gaoler's Daughter
- The Engine Driver
- The Barge Woman
- The Gypsy
- The Chief Weasel
- Pan – makes a single, otherwise anomalous, appearance
Adaptations
William Horwood created several sequels to The Wind in the Willows:
- The Willows in Winter
- Toad Triumphant
- The Willows and Beyond
- The Willows at Christmas
A. A. Milne adapted The Wind in the Willows into a play called Toad of Toad Hall.
There are several film and television versions of The Wind in the Willows, notably including:
- a 1949 animated version by Walt Disney, one-half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
- a 1983 animated (with stop-motion puppets, not drawings) version by Cosgrove Hall, which was followed by an ongoing television series done in the same style
- a 1996 animated version with an all-star cast led by Michael Palin and Alan Bennett as Ratty and Mole; followed by an adaptation of The Willows in Winter - this is largely regarded as the most faithful adaptation
- a 1996 live-action version written and directed by Terry Jones
Trivia
- The first album by psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd was called The Piper at the Gates of Dawn after Chapter 7 of The Wind in the Willows. The songs on the album, written largely by Syd Barrett, are not directly related to the contents of the book.
External link
Template:Lit-stubde:Der Wind in den Weiden he:הרוח בערבי הנחל nl:The Wind in the Willows