Who wrote 'The Wind in the Willows'?

Kenneth Grahame (8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a Scottish writer, most famous for 'The Wind in the Willows' (1908), one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote 'The Reluctant Dragon'; both books were later adapted for stage and film, of which A.A. Milne's 'Toad of Toad Hall' was the first, and the Disney films, which are 'The Adventures of Ichabod' and 'Mr. Toad and The Reluctant Dragon' are best known.

While still a young man in his 20s, Grahame began to publish light stories in London periodicals such as the St. James Gazette. Some of these stories were collected and published as 'Pagan Papers' in 1893, and, two years later, 'The Golden Age'. These were followed by 'Dream Days' in 1898, which contains The Reluctant Dragon.

There is a ten-year gap between Grahame's penultimate book and the publication of his triumph, 'The Wind in the Willows'. During this decade, Grahame became a father. The wayward, headstrong nature he saw in his little son Alastair he transformed into the swaggering Mr. Toad, one of its four principal characters. The character in the book known as Ratty was inspired by his good friend, and writer, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. Grahame mentions this in a signed copy he gave to Quiller-Couch's daughter, Foy Felicia.