The Wind in the Willows

In June I stopped by Midway Used and Rare Books on University and Snelling amidst all the light rail construction (which really is a mess right now). I wanted to find a lovely used copy of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and I found exactly what I was looking for. The Wind in the Willows was originally published in 1908 and the copy I picked up was published in 1960, so quite a few decades later. However, this copy can hardly have been read since it was published. It is in perfect condition, has the original dust jacket, and a lovely dedication handwritten on the title page:

Peter & Betty

May your friendship together be as strong as say, Rat's with Badger.

Much Love,

The Harts

Sunday April 17

Which Sunday, April 17 between 1960 and now is left to the imagination. Another appealing aspect of this particular copy is that the illustrations were all done by Ernest H. Shepard of the original “Winnie-the-Pooh” illustrations. And some are in color. Bonus!

So I followed the “Harry Potter” series with The Wind in the Willows and, actually, it was a bad choice in the end. It’s hard to go from the spectacular magic and drama of “Harry Potter” into ambling stories about Mole, the Water Rat, and Mr. Toad’s instabilities. It just wasn’t that interesting and there were no female characters which I let irritate me.

However, the descriptions of the scenery were just beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the “Wayfarers All” chapter. Also “Dulce Domum” would be a nice read at Christmastime. I recommend the book, but it should be read when you’re in a quiet place and don’t need to be impressed by a lot of action, maybe up at the cabin or (better yet) on the banks of a river in summertime. Also, though it is a child’s book, parents should be aware that apparently “ass” wasn’t a curse word in the early twentieth century, as it is used a couple times in the book and not in reference to a donkey but similarly to the way we might use the word “idiot” which also isn’t a particularly nice thing to say.

One thing that I found fun was that reading The Wind in the Willows made me want to go back and read all the Beatrix Potter books because the characteristics that Grahame inhibits his animals with seem similar to the ways Benjamin Bunny, Jeremy Fisher, and Jemima Puddleduck wore clothes, kept houses, and interacted with perfect diction and English grammar. Potter’s works were published in 1902-1930 so I can’t imagine they weren’t aware of one another and the work other was doing. I can appreciate any text that makes me feel encouraged to explore another topic or author.