The Wind in the Willows
In the original and undefiled sense of the word, Mr. Grahame’s work is worthy mainly because it is irradiated by the spirit of the amateur. He writes because he loves to: he is too child-like and playful to subside into the mere professional man of letters. The Wind in the Willows is fun to read because the author wrote it for fun. It ranges through all the moods of natural enjoyment: it is humorous and beautiful, it combines satire with sentiment, it is serious and jocund. An uproarious chapter, which satirizes the modern subservience to the latest fads, is followed by a chapter in which, mystically, we are brought face to face with the very God of out-of-doors. Mr. Grahame talks in whatever mood most enchants him at the time: his range is as various and as free as the aeolian breathing of the wind in the willows.
—from Forum (January 1909)
A. A. MILNE
It is what I call a Household Book. By a Household Book I mean a book which everybody in the household loves and quotes continually ever afterwards; a book which is read aloud to every new guest, and is regarded as the touchstone of his worth. But it is a book which makes you feel that, though everybody in the house loves it, it is only you who really appreciate it at its true value.
—from Not That It Matters (1919)
PETER GREEN
TheWind in the Willows... is a good deal more than the simple fun Grahame said it was. At bottom it is a book about Us and Them, River-Bankers versus Wild Wooders. The ethics are simple and revealing. If you face up to your responsibilities in the squirearchy, and don’t go haring off in motor-cars (which exposes you to criticism from the lower orders), you can live a nice happy bachelor existence for ever, having enormous picnics and messing about in boats—presumably on the proceeds of your investments.
—from The Spectator (November 27, 1959)
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