The Wind in the Willows is a children&rsquo;s novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley.<br />In 1908, Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Berkshire, where he had lived as a child, and spent his time by the River Thames doing much as the animal characters in his book do &ndash; as the book says, &ldquo;simply messing about in boats&rdquo; &ndash; and expanding the bedtime stories he had earlier told his son Alastair into a manuscript for the book.