Kenneth Grahame, the author best known for The Wind in the Willows and best known for being an author, was in fact a Secretary at The Bank of England. Writing was his side hustle.

If you think of the ribbing C S Lewis took from his fellow Dons in the 1950s when writing The Chronicles of Narnia books (children’s book for goodness sake!!) was bad, imagine the hard time Grahame might have received from his peers at the Bank half a century earlier. The ‘Willows’ appeared after his early retirement but he had been writing (and been published) all his life.

Bullying aside and how career-limiting his various earlier publications might have been at the time, his magnum opus remains a true classic that has translated wonderfully on to the stage, TV, big screen and into numerous languages.

Whilst giving the appearance of a children’s book, it is a very clever piece acknowledging the necessity, appeal and unstoppable nature of progress whilst very much understanding the human (or animal in this case) craving for a simpler life. Written off the back of the Industrial Revolution but prior to The Great War, the tangible benefits of change must have appeared overwhelming in era when globalisation had already started.

And Grahame was at the very heart of that; within the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street of all places! At the centre of the Square Mile, in the capital of a Kingdom whose vast empire brought the world’s trade up the River Thames to offload in the East End. In that context, The Wind in The Willows is allegorical, mildly satirical and of course beautiful in itself. The very ironic lesson learned is that the book, and the contradictory dream therein, has survived as an eternal value.

Kenneth Grahame is quite rightly remembered for his superb effort. Yet his career at the BoE? Who knows? It was probably important at the time but only then. He fell out with his boss, he narrowly avoided being shot and ultimately retired early to enjoy the countryside of his childhood. His job doesn’t matter now. What he wrote from the heart connects with generation after generation, untouched by World Wars, atomic weapons, space travel or even the Internet of things.

Now that’s a side hustle. 

Many thanks to For Reading Addicts for the image and quote.