The Wind in the Willows

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The Wind in the Willows

By: Kenneth Grahame, Dina Gregory

Narrated by: Cush Jumbo, Harriet Walter, Aimee Lou Wood, Susan Wokoma, Jennifer Saunders, Raj Gatak, Clare Corbett, Gerard McDermott, Stephanie Racine

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About this listen

Experience the classic tale of The Wind in the Willows as you’ve never heard it before.

Meet Lady Toad, Mistress Badger, Miss Water Rat and Mrs Mole as they go about their adventures, messing around on the river, gallivanting in Lady Toad’s shiny new toy and fighting valiantly to save Toad Hall from unruly squatters.

In this retelling by Dina Gregory, The Wind in the Willows becomes a story about a group of female animals to be admired for their close sisterhood and fierce independence. Featuring original music and songs by Rosabella Gregory and sound effects captured on location, put your headphones on, sit back and lose yourself in the British countryside.

Cover artwork and illustrations: Melissa Castrillon.

Public Domain (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

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Dina Gregory on adapting the classic tale | It was always going to be nerve-wracking, adapting a beloved classic like The Wind in the Willows. But this new take, in which our four heroes are recast as females, offered an enticing opportunity to combat some of the dated gender dynamics that permeate children’s literature from the period, wherein protagonists are typically male and nearly always more adventurous, more physically engaged with the world, more three-dimensional, and more likely to get into mischief than their female counterparts.|Enter Lady Toad, a feisty motorcar thief; Mistress Badger, a renunciant of social norms who lives ‘her own truth’ in the woods; Miss Water Rat, a weapons-bearing scholar pursuing life’s pleasures without apology; and, perhaps most significantly, young Mrs Mole, who leaves the marital hole in pursuit of ‘something more.’|What came as a surprise as I undertook the work is how little needed to be changed beyond the obvious altering of pronouns, titles, clothing and the like. Once the jolly old chaps’ veneer had been removed, many of the more deeply etched themes worked beautifully with a female cast. Even the time period, coinciding with the suffragette movement, was fortuitous, allowing me to imbue the text with a subtle streak of female emancipation befitting the era.|I should add that what I consider sacred about Grahame’s writing and, therefore, left completely untouched, are his enchanting descriptions of the British countryside. I hope young listeners will bathe in Grahame’s magical descriptions of rivers and fields, hedgerows and woods, especially when that vocabulary, and the natural world that it describes, are fast disappearing.|My quiet hope is that this version, rather than detracting from the original, will help us to see it more clearly. It is like the book was written in magic ink. By altering the genders, we shine a light on the pages to reveal something that was hidden yet always there.

Lady Toad | Vain, conceited, adventuresome, with an infectious warmth and zest for life, Toad calls herself 'Lady Toad' when in fact she is not properly titled. Her vanity is made worse by the fact she lives in one of the finest homes on the river. but for all Toad's self-preoccupation, she is a delightful creature - generous, loyal, affectionate and larger than life.

Mistress Badger | Fierce yet kind, Badger does not care for society. She lives her own life the way she sees fit, deep in the woods, underground, away from judgement. The wisest and wildest of the four friends, if necessary Badger can deal with any animal foolish enough to cross her.

Miss Water Rat | Self-assured, erudite, independent and considerate, Miss Water Rat is a popular figure on the river bank. She enjoys composing poetry and appreciates the finer things in life - good food, good wine and good company.

Miss Mole | The youngest of the four friends, Miss Mole (in truth Mrs. Mole, but she keeps this fact hidden from her friends), has led a sheltered life up until the point at which the novel begins. Her decision to leave home and go out into the world brings her friendship, sisterhood and empowerment.

Dina Gregory

Rosabella Gregory

About the adaptor

Dina Gregory is a storyteller and lyricist who hails from Devon. She holds a Masters in Psychology, Physiology & Philosophy (PPP Joint Honours) from Somerville College, Oxford University, and a second Masters in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her musicals, plays, songs, arias and choral anthems have been performed at venues large and small, both in the USA and the UK. Her short stories—many penned for children—can be heard on Audible. One of Dina’s longstanding collaborators is her twin sister, singer-songwriter and composer Rosabella Gregory. During childhood, the pair divided their time between the piano and the moors. Many of Dina’s projects are written with Rosabella, including this The Wind in the Willows adaptation.

About the composer and singer

Rosabella Gregory is an award-winning singer-songwriter and composer. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, she has released three albums and performed throughout the UK and internationally, both as a solo artist and in support of the legendary Jools Holland on his Country House tour. Her musicianship has led to collaborations within Theatre, Television and Opera. Collaborating with her twin sister, Dina, has given Rosabella some of her most rewarding writing experiences, dating back to a rock opera they penned when they were teens (Mellisa’s Maelstrom), which was produced by English National Opera’s Baylis programme; right up to the present day and their collaboration on The Wind in the Willows.

About the performer

Cush Jumbo is best known for starring in US series The Good Fight. She is the author of Josephine and I and received an OBE last year for her contribution to drama. Cush will take to the stage as Hamlet at The Young Vic in the near future and in 2021, will star as the lead in Britbox thriller The Beast Must Die opposite Jared Harris.

About the performer

Dame Harriet Walter is an award-winning British actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has worked extensively in theatre, film television and radio. Her television credits include Sky Atlantic’s The End, Belgravia, Killing Eve, Succession, The Spanish Princess and The Crown. Films include The Last Duel, Herself, Rocketman, The Sense of an Ending, Sense and Sensibility and Atonement. On stage she is best known for her Shakespearean work, for example as Lady Macbeth, Beatrice and Cleopatra but also as Brutus, Henry IV and Prospero in the all-female trilogy for the Donmar Theatre. She has also created many new characters for contemporary writers. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by Birmingham University and is an honorary associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Harriet is also a writer and has published four books.

About the performer

Aimée Lou Wood is a British actress. She is best known for her debut role as Aimee Gibbs in the Netflix original comedy-drama series Sex Education and Sonya in the West End revival of Uncle Vanya. She can next be seen in feature film Louis Wain and season 3 of Sex Education.

About the performer

In 2020, BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Susan Wokoma starred in Amazon Prime Video’s Truth Seekers, Netflix’s Enola Holmes and Donmar Warehouse’s Teenage Dick. Previous to this, Susan filmed the BBC One series Dark Mon£y, Channel 4 comedy series Year of the Rabbit, comedic horror series Crazyhead, The Ghost and The House of Truth and the second series of the BAFTA award-winning Chewing Gum. She also appeared on stage in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Additional screen credits include: Crashing, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Inbetweeners 2 and That Summer Day. Susan wrote and starred in the award-winning short Love the Sinner and has also written the screenplay for BBC Films Three Weeks.

About the performer

Jennifer Saunders is one half of the legendary comedy duo French and Saunders. She also wrote and starred in the award-winning and critically acclaimed television series Absolutely Fabulous. The feature film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie was released in the summer of 2016. Jennifer co-wrote and acted in Girls on Top, The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle and Jam and Jerusalem. Other television credits include Blandings, Josh, Stick Man, The Boy In The Dress, This Is Jinsy, Dead Boss and Friends. She wrote and starred in many of the 69 Comic Strip films. Recent credits include The Stranger and There’s Something About Movies. Jennifer has voiced characters in feature films such as Sing, The Minions and Shrek 2. In 2020, she recorded an episode of The Simpsons.

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ORIGINALS

Enchanting Performance • Refreshing Perspective • Distinct Character Voices • Delightful Adaptation • Stellar Voice Acting

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Don't buy this if you want the original version. This is a feminist retelling with a dynamic and delightful female cast. An enjoyable listen - just so long as you're interested in a female-centric version.

Feminist Retelling / Not the Original