My mother was asking for a copy of Wind in the Willows to read and of all the books written for children in the twentieth century (it was published around 1908) it is one of the few that speaks to adults as much if not more than young children. Not just because Kenneth Grahame used people he knew as the template for his characters, but because those people have become synonymous with the book. People have often said they know a Ratty or a Badger and my mother said her father was a Mr.Toad.
They are all there, the house loving Mole always trying to do what is right, the practical Ratty, the masterful Badger everyone goes to to get things done and the unquenchable spirit of Toad fascinated with life in all its adventure. And who doesn’t know a dark forest or a weasel or two?
It is also beautifully written with an economy of style, yet an ever flowing narrative that doesn’t stop for a second. It passes that acid test for great works of literature in that people will re-read it throughout their lives and find new joy and revisit old joy in each page. I have no idea how my own work will be received or if it will be remembered but if I could write one book as good, or even half as good, I might be a happy writer.