In "The Golden Age", first published in 1895 by Kenneth Grahame, the much loved creator of Winnie The Pooh, readers are granted an insight into the writer's childhood.
Some of the stories in it had already appeared in various magazines. It was greeted by poets like Swinburne with much praise and almost instantly regarded as a classic. What's interesting about "The Golden Age" is that in this book, Grahame uses the metaphor of Ancient Greek legends and stories as parallels to his own life. The adults are termed “The Olympians” appearing remote, inaccessible and lofty to a child, beings that no longer know how to have fun. Their activities are incomprehensible to the young mind while they had no interest in the doings of their wards. Grahame's humorous yet ironical tone lends a touch of fun to the adult world as seen through the eyes of a child.
Other chapters describe the fun of being outdoors, visitors and relatives who come to the house, childhood games of Roundheads and Royalists, King Arthur's Knights, bandits and damsels in distress, knights errant, soldiers and princesses and everything else that a group of high spirited children could devise out of their boundless imaginations. Youthful escapades, stolen fruit, daredevil stunts and the carefree days of childhood are vividly captured in "The Golden Age".
For modern day readers, these recollections are interesting and in almost complete contrast to children's lives today, yet the book is an amusing and easy read for all ages.
