The Reluctant Dragon

Grahame, Kenneth

3.96

5,193 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1846071208 ISBN 13: 9781846071201

Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd, 2007

A tale about a dragon who doesn't want to fight and the boy who becomes his friend. But when villagers discover about his existence, they send for St George immediately to slay the monster. So when saint arrives, with intention of killing him, the Boy needs to do some persuading. After all, George and Dragon are supposed to fight - aren't they?

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Kenneth Grahame was born in 1859. He grew up in Cookham Dene, Berkshire, in an idealised country cottage. Water meadows ran down to the River Thames; his passion for rivers can be seen in The Wind in the Willows. Kenneth went to school at St Edward’s, Oxford. Prevented for family reasons from continuing on to university, he became a clerk at the Bank of England. By 1879 he belonged to several literary societies, and was writing pieces for papers, including the National Observer. A collection of his magazine articles were published in 1893: Pagan Papers. In 1898 he became Secretary to the Bank of England. Soon after, in 1899, he married Elspeth Thomson. Their son Alastair was born in 1900. It was on the evening of his fourth birthday that Kenneth Grahame first told his son a story about moles and water rats. This story was continued over the next three years, but it was only when Constance Smedley suggested that he make a book out of it that it took shape as The Wind in the Willows, and published by Methuen. The book was published on 8 October 1908. In 1931 Ernest H Shephard was asked to illustrate it, following his success with the illustrations in Winnie-the-Pooh. In 1908 Kenneth Grahame retired before moving to Pangbourne in 1924 where he lived until his death in 1932.

Synopsis:

Anton Lesser reads Kenneth Grahame's much-loved tale about a dragon who doesn't want to fight and the boy who becomes his friend. The Boy lives in a cottage with his mother and father, and the Dragon lives in a cave on the Downs. He's not the sort of dragon one might expect to meet, however - he's polite, friendly, composes poetry and purrs when he's happy. Lazy and peace-loving, he just wants to lead a quiet life. But when the villagers discover his existence, they send for St George immediately to slay the dreadful monster. So when the saint arrives, with the intention of killing him, The Boy needs to do some persuading. After all, George and the Dragon are supposed to fight - aren't they? A charming, humorous story from the acclaimed author of "The Wind in the Willows".

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