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The Annotated Wind in the Willows (The Annotated Books) Hardcover – April 6, 2009

by Kenneth Grahame (Author), Annie Gauger (Editor, Preface), Brian Jacques (Introduction)

4.5 71 ratings

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To celebrate The Wind in the Willows, scholar Annie Gauger offers this beautifully illustrated edition of Kenneth Grahame’s classic―complete with rare photographs of the Grahames, their friends, and illustrations from the first five editions.

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing―absolutely nothing―half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”―the Water Rat to the Mole

An instant bestseller upon its initial publication in 1908, The Wind in the Willows has become one of the beloved stories of all time. How could Ratty and Mole have known when they took to the river over one hundred years ago that they would begin a phenomenon that would produce one of the most oft-quoted lines in British literature, and inspire everyone from the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh to Pink Floyd? Drawing from more than a decade of research, Annie Gauger, one of the world’s leading experts on Kenneth Grahame and The Wind in the Willows, now presents a fascinating new annotated edition that reintroduces readers to Otter, curmudgeonly Badger, and rollicking, boastful Toad, while revealing the secrets behind this treasured classic.

In The Annotated Wind in the Willows, readers will discover the sheer joy of the original text, restored to the original 1908 version, illustrated with hundreds of full-color images―including the beloved drawings by E. H. Shepard and Arthur Rackham. This edition also includes Shepard’s famous map of the Wild Wood and rarely seen images by illustrators Graham Robertson, Paul Bransom, Nancy Barnhart, and Wyndham Payne.

In an illuminating preface, Gauger explains how Grahame came to write the novel, which began as a bedtime story and then became a series of letters he wrote to his son, Alastair. This edition reproduces the original letters in their entirety and includes nearly a thousand delightful annotations on everything from automobiles (Toad drove an Armstrong Hardcastle Special Eight) and early motorcar etiquette to modern manifestations (Disneyland’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride). She reveals how William John Cavendish Bentinck-Scott, the peculiar Fifth Duke of Portland, built an extensive network of underground tunnels, thus inspiring the character of Badger, and she puts Grahame’s work in literary context, comparing him to Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, A. A. Milne, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Finally, new to this edition, long buried in the Kenneth Grahame papers, are the notes, letters, and writings by Alastair Grahame and his governess, including several pieces by Kenneth Grahame himself that have never been published before.

With a stunning, lyrical tribute to Grahame by Brian Jacques, the internationally best-selling author of the Redwall series, The Annotated Wind in the Willows should prove a most beautiful and enduring tribute to Grahame’s masterpiece. 182 illustrations, color throughout

Print length

480 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

April 6, 2009
Dimensions

8.8 x 1.5 x 10.3 inches
ISBN-10

0393057747
ISBN-13

978-0393057744
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Jacques’ introduction is] a paean to the story and its heroes that is in delightful harmony with the book’s spirit…richly illustrated throughout."
― Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

"Beautiful."
― Meghan Cox Gurdon, National Review

"[I]nsights that burnish the book…enrich the experience of reading the book…it’s the introduction…that give[s] us a new relationship to the story."
― Jeremy McCarter, Newsweek

"[A] superlative book...It is the ultimate desk-bound person’s fantasy scheme."
― Roger Lewis, The Daily Express

"Certainly anybody who wants to own just one annotated Wind in the Willows should choose Gauger's."
― Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books

"[Gauger] by far [is] the more extensive and detailed of the two annotators."
― Charles McGrath, The New York Times

"[Gauger] provides revealing insights into the psychological and social genesis of The Wind in the Willows…illuminating…analysis of the pictures…lovers of The Wind in the Willows are surely indebted to Ms. Gauger’s work, and her readers will love seeing illustrations from so many editions."
― Claire Hopley, Washington Times

"I found The Annotated Wind in the Willows is absolutely fascinating and delightful. Practically every page is a revelation, and being able to compare the various illustrations is both stimulating and thought-provoking. Most importantly, perhaps, Alastair Grahame finally gets some close attention that puts him in a new, and much happier, light. It's a fitting tribute to the great original, and will delight enthusiasts and academics alike. An absolutely fantastic book."
― Jan Needle, author of Wild Wood, a sequel to The Wind in the Willows

"A beautiful and fascinating book which surely must become the definitive edition for any lovers of Kenneth Grahame. Annie Gauger has produced a lavish and scholarly work which still allows us to enjoy the original story without all the incredible research feeling unnecessarily intrusive."
― John O'Farrell

"The tradition that Martin Gardner began with the Annotated Alice has been splendidly upheld by Annie Gauger. What Gardner did for Lewis Carroll, Gauger has done in spades for Kenneth Grahame, in a sumptuously produced volume that’s a delight to handle as well as read. The background information on display really dazzles: I only wish I'd had this book to consult when writing Grahame’s biography."
― Peter Green, author of Kenneth Grahame, 1859-1932: A Study of His Life, Work, and Times

From the Back Cover

The authoritative edition of this classic work―now with millions of copies in print all over the world―published to honor the author’s 150th birthday.

With a stirring introduction by Brian Jacques, the internationally best-selling author of the Redwall Series.

“The tradition that Martin Gardner began with The Annotated Alice has been splendidly upheld by Annie Gauger. What Gardner did for Lewis Carroll, Gauger has done in spades for Kenneth Grahame, in a sumptuously produced volume that’s a delight to handle as well as read. The background information on display really dazzles: I only wish I’d had this book to consult when writing Grahame’s biography.”―Peter Green, author of Kenneth Grahame, 1859–1932: A Study of His Life, Work, and Times

Classic praise for The Wind in the Willows

“Destined to be one of those dog-eared volumes which one laughs over and loves.”―The New York Times, 1908

“I have read it and re-read it, and have come to accept the characters as old friends. . . . Indeed, I feel very much about going to Africa as the seafaring rat did when he almost made the water-rat wish to forsake everything and start wandering!”―President Theodore Roosevelt to Kenneth Grahame, 1909

“It is what I call a Household Book . . . a book which everybody in the household loves, and quotes continually ever afterwards; a book which is read aloud to every new guest.”―A. A. Milne, 1920

“I rank [The Wind in the Willows] very high in its class―up in the region of Alice in Wonderland almost―and much higher than the efforts of Mickey Mouse.”―E. M. Forster, 1942

“Consider Mr. Badger in The Wind in the Willows―that extraordinary amalgam of high rank, course manners, gruffness, shyness, and goodness. The child who has once met Mr. Badger has ever afterwards in its bones a knowledge of humanity and of English social history which it could not get in any other way.”―C. S. Lewis, 1950

The Annotated Wind in the Willows includes:

The complete text of the original letters that inspired the novel
Hundreds of full-color illustrations, many rare and previously unpublished
Thousands of annotations on the historical and literary context of the novel
Dozens of previously unpublished documents: letters, lists, and other Grahame artifacts
A selection of critical responses upon first release, including the complete text of many of the early reviews

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (April 6, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393057747
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393057744
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.8 x 1.5 x 10.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,279 in British & Irish Literary Criticism (Books)
- #2,147 in Classic American Literature
- #25,186 in Classic Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.5 71 ratings

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Kenneth Grahame

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Kenneth Grahame (/ˈɡreɪ.əm/ GRAY-əm; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British 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 into Disney films.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by unknown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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John D. Cofield

An Old Treasure Newly Enhanced

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2009

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The Wind in the Willows was an instant classic when it was first published in 1908. Its author Kenneth Grahame was a courteous but reserved gentleman who had been an official in the Bank of England. Grahame went to work every day in the City of London, but his heart was in the countryside along the River Thames near his suburban home. He had a neglected upbringing, then married rather late in life and had only one child, a son whose physical and emotional problems were a continual source of concern for his parents. The Wind in the Willows grew out of a bedside tale that Grahame began telling his son (known as Mouse in the family) and then continued in a series of letters. Grahame had already written a couple of successful books about children, but The Wind in the Willows was to be his magnum opus. It has never been out of print since 1908, and it has been illustrated by some of the finest artists available, including E.H. Shepard and Arthur Rackham.

Annie Gauger's annotated edition takes this old treasure and enhances it immensely. There are an amazing number of illustrations, some depicting scenes from the book itself, with perceptive notes from Gauger pointing out differences in interpretation; as well as photographs of the Grahame family and their homes; the actual River Bank itself and environs; and the many men and women who either inspired some of the book's characters or who were instrumental in getting it published in the first place. Additionally, Ms. Gauger provides a wealth of information on the social and political influences behind the book, like the suffragettes and the expanding railway network, and on the many words and usages that were once common but have after a century fallen into obscurity. Most interestingly, she also links The Wind in the Willows to other works by authors as varied as Evelyn Waugh and John Milton, and to seemingly unlikely personages like Theodore Roosevelt and David Lloyd-George.

The chief interest annotated versions have for their readers is the chance of picking up new and intriguing insights into a book with which they might already be familiar. The Annotated Wind in the Willows provides many such insights, and deserves a place in the library of everyone who loves Grahame's original creation.

30 people found this helpful

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M. Hale

This is the way to read Wind in the Willows

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2021

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I am a long time coming back to Wind in the Willows. There was an abridged childhood version with pictures. For adults who go to book clubs there is a paper back, which looks dreary. This major effort by the editor, has Inevitably developed some complaints about some ofthe annotations. I am more interested in having access to the text, which is readable along side the annotations, and to the precedent stories of Kenneth Grahame and his family and friends, and publisher, the illustrators, etc. 60 years after I met him in college, and then only in book form, Arthur Quiller Couch, editor of the Oxford Book of Verse, reappears. It made me feel as though I was by the Thames with mole and badger. What’s not to like? Read it, keep it for a while, give it to a friend even if he or she looks puzzled when you say “you really should learn about Mr. Toad and his pals.” And to those who haven’t liked some of the annotations, just frame the question “could you put this book together?”

One person found this helpful

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WolfMother

Packed with history

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2020

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The presentation is beautiful, but it's the background behind the "Wind in the Willows" that had me fascinated. I loved being able to compare the different illustrator's interpretations of the story and characters. Essential for the library of any "Wind in the Willows" fan.

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019

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This annotated version of Kenneth Graham’s book is enchanting. Purchased because we stayed in his childhood home in Scotland, I found it interesting.

One person found this helpful

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Carrie

Excellent book, the notes can get

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2021

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Wonderful added notes revealing the story origins and the author’s life and time.

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Tom Pepper

Great illustrations, not so great “annotations”

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2021

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I am reviewing (and rating) the edition here, not “The Wind in the Willows” itself: the edition is The Annotated Wind in the Willows, Ed. by Annie Gauger (2009)

An okay edition, and the book is well bound and printed. I found only a dozen or so typos, most of those in the annotations not the text—pretty good for a book printed in this century.

The annotation, though, aren’t terribly good. Many of them are just completely irrelevant, and seem to be the editor just pointing out something that came to her mind while reading a passage. Many others seem a reach or just irrelevant; for instance, on the first page of Chapter X, “The Further Adventures of Toad”, she suggests that the “chapter title could be a take on Sidney G. Paternoster’s sequel to ‘The Cruse of the Conqueror’”. What she seems to mean is that the title is derived from the subtitle to this book (it was a sequel), which was “the further adventures of the Motor Pirate.” She admits that the book was “primarily published in the U.S.,” but suggests that there was a mention of the title in the files of Grahame’s publisher. Does it not seem a reach to suggest that Grahame sat reading through the “readers report” files of his publisher just to come up with the fairly ordinary phrase “further adventures”? On the same page, after the mention of Toad’s cold toes, she gives an absurd detailed account of the bones of a real toad’s toes! Not the most helpful annotation.

And when there are things that need annotating, she often ignores them or gets them wrong. For instance, she suggests that the phrase “well-metalled road” refers to the practice of paving roads with metal! Seriously! No, it is a term for roads paved with compacted stone (“metal” deriving from the Latin word for quarry).

There are many samples of illustrations, mostly from the five major early illustrators: Payne, Rackham, Shepard, Bransom and Barnhart. The illustration are nice to have, and reading the text is fun, but as an “annotated” edition this isn’t all that great.

8 people found this helpful

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geoff g

A delightful read for every age!

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2020

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I bought this annotated copy of Wind In The Willows as a book club read. This version brought amazing depth to the classic adventures of little animal friends. Not just for children.

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EDDI

la migliore edizione

Reviewed in Italy on April 10, 2021

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Ritengo che questa sia la migliore edizione del romanzo. Bel volume.

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Professor Plum

A must-have for TWITW fans!

Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2019

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Fascinating annotations and illustrations. If you're only a casual fan of the novel, this may not be worth the cost; or if you're just curious about reading The Wind and the Willows, go for a cheaper edition. But if the novel is a personal fave and you want to dig deeper into the context and influences surrounding The Wind in the Willows, then this edition is excellent! Very good resource for teachers as well.