Kenneth Grahame was born in Scotland in 1859. After the death of his mother he was sent to live with his grandparents in Berkshire and attended school in Oxford. On leaving school he worked at the Bank of England and also wrote articles and stories which he submitted to many publications.

He married in 1899 and had a son, Alastair. His best-known story, The Wind in the Willows, was published in 1908. After the sudden death of his son, Grahame was grief-stricken and became reclusive. He died in 1932 and is buried in Oxford.