The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
List: $14.95 | Sale: $10.47
Club: $7.47

The Wind in the Willows

Author: Kenneth Grahame

Narrator: Alan Bennett, Richard Briers, Adrian Scarborough, Terence Rigby, a full cast

Unabridged: 2 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/07/2017

Synopsis

One Spring morning, Mole abandons his spring cleaning and surfaces into the sunlight and warm grass of a great meadow. Rambling busily along the hedgerows he comes all at once to the edge of a river. Mole is entranced. Here on the river bank he meets the Water Rat. Mole stays with the Water Rat in his snug waterside home where the river laps at the sill of the window and here he meets Ratty's friends: Badger who lives in the Wild Wood and the incorrigible Toad of Toad Hall.A timeless tale of waterside Britain that has been loved by generations of children and acclaimed as a classic. The story of Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toad and their escapades, whether messing about on the river or puttering about in Toad's shiny new car, cannot fail to enchant every listener.Many of the original cast from Alan Bennett's acclaimed National Theatre production appear in this dramatization for BBC Radio 4, including Richard Briers as Rat, Adrian Scarborough as Mole, and Terence Rigby as Albert, with Alan Bennett as the narrator.

About Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932), Scottish-born author, was raised by his grandmother in Berkshire, England, along the banks of the Thames River. He began working at the Bank of England in 1879. As a pastime, he wrote light nonfiction and articles for newspapers. The Wind in the Willows, originally written as letters to his son, established him as a writer of children’s books and had a deep influence on fantasy literature.

About Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett is a renowned playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and author who has won dozens of awards in his more than fifty-year career, including awards for lifetime achievement. His bestselling titles include The Uncommon Reader, Untold Stories, Writing Home, and others.

About Richard Briers

Richard Briers (1934–2013) was an English actor whose fifty-year career involved roles on television, stage, film, and radio. He became a household name during the 1970s due to his popular role in the British sitcom The Good Life. He also began narrating the children’s cartoon series Roobarb and Custard during this time in addition to lending his voice to the animated version of Watership Down. Although best known for his comedy roles in film and on television, he also joined Sir Kenneth Branagh’s Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987 where he went on to perform a number of classical roles.

About Terence Rigby

Terence Rigby has played Pozzo twice on stage. He was in Peter Hall’s 1998 production and then repeated the role in Hall’s 50th anniversary production at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2005. He has also played Davies in Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker at the Old Vic in Bristol. He has a close association with Pinter having appeared in United States premieres of The Homecoming and No Man’s Land, both directed by Peter Hall. His television appearances include Softly Softly, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Born to Run with Billie Whitelaw. His films include Elizabeth, Dogs of War, and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Reviews

Goodreads review by J. Aleksandr on January 19, 2012

Trying to review The Wind in the Willows is a strange undertaking. In the introduction to my copy, A. A. Milne wrote: "One can argue over the merits of most books... one does not argue about The Wind in the Willows. The young man gives it to the girl with whom he is in love, and if she does not like......more

Goodreads review by Hailey on January 15, 2018

So fun and whimsical!......more

Goodreads review by Bionic Jean on February 06, 2025

Some of the best children’s classics have started with an adult inventing stories to tell to a child. “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “Peter Pan” and even “Watership Down” all began this way, as did many others. The Wind in the Willows is another such. Like them, it is a novel......more

Goodreads review by emma on January 28, 2022

This book is no plot, just vibes. If you're in the mood to just think about forest animals wearing tweed, and picnics in rowboats, and dinner parties attended by a bunch of rabbits and stuff à la the third act of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox, and it's cool with you if that replaces story altogethe......more

Goodreads review by Meghhnaa on September 03, 2022

A delightful and entrancing story for children to wonder and adults to ponder! :) The protagonists, our incorrigible and exasperating toad, the loyal and responsible friends, the water rat and ever-gadding mole, and finally our revered badger. It's about the forest adventures of the comrades rat and......more

Quotes

“Read it and reread it, and have come to accept the characters as old friends.” Theodore Roosevelt, US president

“A book that we all greatly loved and admired and read aloud or alone, over and over and over.” Christopher Robin Milne, author of The Enchanted Places

Awards

  • BBC’s Big Read Poll of the UK’s Best-Loved Books
Add to Cart
Add to Wish List