Person    | Male  Born 8/3/1859  Died 6/7/1932

Kenneth Grahame

Categories: Literature

Countries: Scotland

Author. Born Edinbugh. Aged 5 lost his mother and was brought up in England by his grandparents. Very successful at school in Oxford, he was denied university for financial reasons, which explains his career choice. Worked in the Bank of England for nearly 30 years and resigned suddenly shortly before "The Wind in the Willows" was published in 1908, following an argument with one of the directors, Cunliffe.

His duties at the bank seem to have involved dealing with armed terrorists. In 1903 a lunatic ran into the bank demanding to see the governor. Grahame went to see him and was fired at three times but he ducked each time, or the gunman was a rotten shot. There is a plaque to Grahame in the Bank's internal Fountain Court.

Sadly, Alastair, the son and only child, for whom TWITW was originally written, was not healthy and had an unhappy life which he eventually ended as an undergraduate in Oxford, on a railway track.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Kenneth Grahame

Commemorated ati

Kenneth Grahame

Kenneth Grahame, 1859 - 1932, author of 'The Wind in the Willows" lived here,...

Read More

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Kenneth Grahame

Creations i

Boat in Molesey

{On the boat-shaped board:} Sit, climb, stand, balance, rock with the waves a...

Read More

Other Subjects

James Hadley Chase

James Hadley Chase

Thriller writer. Born at the site of the plaque as René Lodge Brabazon Raymond. Under various pseudonyms, he wrote ninety novels, fifty of which were made into films. Died in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, Sw...

Person, Literature, Switzerland

1 memorial
Dick Whittington

Dick Whittington

Born in Pauntley, Gloucestershire, second son of a wealthy man. Thrice Lord Mayor of London: 1397, 1406 and 1420 (actually four times but two were consecutive). Three times Master of the Mercers' C...

Person, Literature, Lord Mayor, Politics & Administration, Theatre

8 memorials
Sir Kingsley Amis

Sir Kingsley Amis

Novelist and poet. Born Kingsley William Amis in Norbury. His many novels include 'Lucky Jim', 'Take a Girl Like You' and 'The Old Devils'. He also wrote six volumes of poetry, and works of non-fic...

Person, Literature, Poetry

1 memorial
Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli

Born Theobalds Road which at the time was 6 King's Road. Novelist, e.g. Coningsby, Sybil, and Tancred. Tory Prime Minister in 1868 and 1874 - 1880. 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. Clearly an interesting ...

Person, Literature, Politics & Administration, Seriously Famous

6 memorials
Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson

Born Edinburgh's New Town. Never a well man, he tried living in various places looking for a climate that would suit: Bournemouth, France, New York State. He died on a small Samoan island in the Pa...

Person, Literature, Seriously Famous, Samoa, Scotland

1 memorial