Grahame, Kenneth |
| ESSAYIST, CHILDREN'S WRITER (SCOTLAND) |
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BORN 8 Mar 1859, Edinburgh - DIED 6 Jul 1932, Pangbourne, Berkshire GRAVE LOCATION Oxford, Oxfordshire: Holywell Cemetery, St. Cross Road (next to St. Cross Church) |
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Kenneth Grahame was the son of an lawyer. The author Anthony Hope was his cousin. His mother died when he was five years old and because his father had a drinking problem he was raised by his grandmother in Cookham, Berkshire. He wasn't allowed to study at Oxford University because it was too expensive and in 1879 he entered the service of the Bank of England, where he worked as a clerk but eventually rose to the position of Secretary. When he was in his twenties he published short stories and they were collected in "Pagan Papers" (1893) and "The Golden Age" (1895). His writing was encouraged by his friend Frederick Furnivall and through him he met Tennyson, Browning, Rusking and William Morris. In 1898 "Dream Days" was published. He married Elspeth Thomson in 1899. They had a son in 1900, Alastair, but he was born blind in one eye and suffered from health problems. His best known book, the children's novel "The Wind in the Willows", was published in 1908. In the same year he retired from the bank of England. In 1920 Alastair committed suicide on a railway track. Grahame died in 1932. Related persons • met Ruskin, John |
| Images | |
 The grave of Kenneth Grahame at Holywell Cemetery, Oxford. Picture by Androom (21 Oct 2012) |
 The grave of Kenneth Grahame at Holywell Cemetery, Oxford. Picture by Androom (21 Oct 2012) |
Sources • Daiches, David (ed.), The Penguin Companion to Literature 1, Penguin Books, 1971 • Kenneth Grahame - Wikipedia |
