Kenneth Graham is a British Scottish writer. The author received worldwide recognition after the publication of the book "The Wind in the Willows". In 1941, The Walt Disney Company made a feature-length animated film based on his story The Slacker Dragon.
The English writer was engaged in writing books in his spare time. He worked as a bank clerk. Before the publication of the main work of his life, entitled "The Wind in the Willows," the author had written several more works.
Study time
Kenneth Graham's biography began on March 8th. He was born in Edinburgh in 1859. With their five-year-old son, the family moved to Argyll County. Soon the boy, his sister and brother were left without parents. The grandmother took the grandson upbringing. Kenneth spent his childhood on the banks of the Thames in Berkshire.
The child studied at St. Edward's School at the University of Oxford. He showed considerable ability, it was planned to receive an education at Oxford. However, the relatives decided otherwise. In 1879 Graham began her career at the Bank of England. He served until 1907.
After starting banking in a bank, the future writer moved to London. He actively communicated with the capital's writers. Soon, the aspiring author began writing short essays. They were eagerly published by local publications.
From 1880 he wrote essays. On the basis of some of them, the book "Pagan Records" appeared in 1893. In the same period, stories were published in the National Observer magazine. Memories of childhood became the main theme of the essays. Then they became the basis for the books "The Golden Age" or "Golden Years", published in 1895, and "Days of Dreams" in 1898. In the last collection, the author included his story "The Reluctant Dragon" ".
Vocation and family
On July 22, 1899, the writer's personal life was settled. Elspeth Thompson became his wife. However, family relationships did not develop in the best way. Soon the couple had a child. The son was named Alistair. The boy grew up sickly and very weak.
Especially for her only son, Kenneth began writing and recording stories about Mr. Jubbs (Toad). On their basis, the book "The Wind in the Willows" was later written.
The cycle of stories about Mr. Toad, Badger, Mole was composed over several years. When enough stories had accumulated, the author combined all the stories into a collection called "The Wind in the Willows." There are five main characters.
Uncle Rat (Otter), a water rat, lives on the bank of the river. He is a true example of judgment. At the very beginning of the book, he is rather conservative, giving preference to calmness. However, later he discovers in himself a tendency to contemplation.
The Mole seems to be the complete opposite of the Rat. He thirsts for adventure, always open to new things. The typical boastful rich man is Mr. Toad, the toad.
His narrow-mindedness, stupidity and narcissism make a repulsive impression on readers in the first chapters. On the other hand, it opens at the end of the book. Deep down, an unpleasant hero turns out to be kind and talented.
Famous book
Like Uncle Rat, Mr. Badger is a wise and serious creature. However, his excessive bombast and severity sometimes does not attract, but repels.
The book became a hymn to nature, native land and distant wanderings. The story is leisurely. The author teaches to notice the beauty in the ordinary, to accept with joy any time of the year. According to the writer's idea, it is nature that can become the best teacher.
By the end of the story, each character learns his own lessons, draws conclusions from them, and gains wisdom. However, the book is not a standard educational tale for children. Under the guise of animals, typical representatives of English society are bred in it.
Tood's prototype was Alistair. Adults took care of the child beyond measure. The boy was a child out of control and very exalted, very vulnerable and nervous. Parents unanimously considered their son a genius, but those around him did not notice his giftedness.
The manuscript offered to American publishers was rejected. The book was published in England in 1908. After publication, the author became a world famous. In 1930, the story was used by Alan Milne. Based on her motives, he wrote the play "Mr. Toad of Toad Hall." Its popularity continues to this day.
For a long time, Graham's work remained unknown in Russia. Only in 1988, eight decades after the first edition, "The Wind in the Willows" was translated into Russian by Irina Tokmakova. Simultaneously, the translation was made by Vladimir Reznik. His work in the eighties was not accepted by domestic publishing houses. The first publication took place in 1992 with the author's drawings. There was no more reprint of the sponsored issue.
Summarizing
Tokmakova's translation became famous. Her work is more emotional, lack of literary turns and preambles, inherent in other translations. Reznik's work has become a rare second-hand book. There were no reprints, and there are quite a lot of people who want to purchase this version.
Kenneth Graham has written several books about orphans. The stories about them were included in the collections "Golden Years" and "Days of Dreams". The popularity of these works is not great. They have been completely supplanted by the best-selling Wind in the Willows. Based on the tale of the lazy dragon, included in the collection Days of Dreams, in 1941 the Walt Disney film studio released the cartoon of the same name.
In 1920, disaster struck in the Graham family. The son died. This was a hard blow for his parents. Husband and wife are completely estranged from each other. Nothing more connected them. The writing activity was discontinued.
Kenneth Graham passed away in 1932. He passed away on 6 July.
