Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859, Grahame was raised by relatives in the village of Cookham in Berkshire west of London. As a boy, he enjoyed boating on the nearby River Thames and wandering through the region’s woods and fields. These experiences later provided him with source material for the tale of anthropomorphized animals that became his book The Wind in the Willows.

Although Grahame was an excellent student and wanted to attend Oxford, he was unable to do so for financial reasons. Nevertheless, he became a banker and prospered. During his twenties, while working his way up through the ranks at the bank, Grahame authored stories that appeared in local publications such as London’s St. James Gazette. Some of these works were later published as collections: Pagan Papers (1893), The Golden Age (1895), and Dream Days (1898), the last of which contains his most famous short story, The Reluctant Dragon. This story was unusual for its time in that it didn’t portray the dragon as fearsome. Illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, the story later inspired a film, a children’s operetta, an episode of a television show, and other works.

Grahame and his wife, Elspeth, had one child, Alistair. The boy had many health problems but was cheered by the tales his father told him about four animal friends living in a wooded village and their adventures near the river.