The Wind in the Willows
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Who of us is not familiar with the adventures of Ratty and Mole and their timeless adventures which have enchanted children and parents alike for more than a century?
The story starts when Mole decides to visit the river bank one sunny morning instead of doing his spring cleaning (who can blame him?). Here he bumps into Ratty and thus starts their marvellous adventures... along the way, we also meet Badger and Toad - the four of them friends and neighbours in the English countryside.
The Wind in the Willows is an English Classic and has been illustrated by many different illustrators including E.H.Shepard, Arthur Rackham, Inga Moore, John Burningham, Michael Hague, and many more.
The particular edition I shall focus on is illustrated by Charles van Sandwyk and published by the Folio Society. Van Sandwyk was born in South Africa and emigrated with his family to Canada when he was 12 years old. Some of his paintings hang in the National Library of Canada and his artwork is now collected across North America and Europe.
This book has an elaborate gilt decoration to spine and front board, the front board has a pictorial onlay showing Ratty and Mole in front of a log fire. Light brown pictorial endpapers show a restful scene with Badger sleeping by the river whilst Ratty and Mole are on the far bank. There are beautiful full page and part page colour illustrations along with b/w illustrations to the text , all by Van Sandwyk.
As a Folio Society publication it does, of course, come with a slipcase. The slipcase is light green with a continuous bird's nest pattern on all sides. A very smart publication indeed and, in my opinion, a must-have in any collection!
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Contributed by Sonia
(Published on 24th Oct 2018 )
