The beauty of Kenneth Grahame’s prose is widely acknowledged but the story is so full of wonderful imagery that it almost demands to be illustrated – despite this, when first published in 1908 it was without pictures. The book has been in print ever since but what is less well known is that it has now been illustrated by more than ninety artists – making it the most widely illustrated book in the English language! In this evocative presentation we will revisit the story through the eyes of famous children’s illustrators such as E H Sheppard, Arthur Rackham, Robert Ingpen, Inga Moore and Val Biro among others. We will also explore how the story came to be written for Kenneth Grahame’s son Alastair and the interesting but ultimately tragic life of Kenneth Grahame.

 

 

John is a very popular speaker and known for his entertaining and highly informative talks which he presents with warmth and humour. Formerly a lecturer and Director of Studies at the School of Education at the University of Bath, he has undertaken extensive foreign lecture tours and has been a popular speaker on the Arts Society circuit for a number of years.