Alan Alexander Milne

Alan Alexander Milne was born on 18th January 1882, also known as ‘Winnie the Pooh Day.’ Born in London. He died on 31st January 1956, in Hartfield, East Sussex. A.A. Milne wrote for a variety of mediums throughout his lifetime, including during his military service in World War I, which led to his success as a playwright. The mediums A.A. Milne utilised are as follows: novels, non-fiction, poetry, screenplays and plays, newspaper articles, including Granta and Punch articles, introductions for books, and story and poetry collections for children.

Winnie-the-Pooh

He is perhaps best known for the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh who first appears in a poem titled “Teddy Bear”, published in Punch Magazine 1924. A.A. Milne made a number of contributions to this magazine after he graduated from Cambridge with a mathematics degree. This particular poem featured in a collection of poems also published in 1924, titled ‘When We Were Very Young’ alongside E.H Shepard’s illustrations.

Winnie-the-Pooh also features in the following works:

· A Gallery of Children, 1925, a number of these stories featured later in the Winnie-the-Pooh Books.

· Winnie-the-Pooh, 1926

· Now We Are Six, 1927

· The House at Pooh Corner, 1928

These works were of enormous worldwide success. However, A.A. Milne ceased writing about Winnie-the-Pooh’s adventures as a result of its acclaimed fame which undoubtedly shaped his career and recognition as a children’s author, compared to other work. The creation of Winnie-the-Pooh also heavily impacted his son, named Christopher Robin Milne. As a consequence of using his own son’s name as one of the main characters, a fractious and estranged relationship between father and son ensued. The animals were all inspired by A.A. Milne’s son’s toys. Winnie-the-Pooh was based on a bear Christopher Robin Milne received for his first birthday, originally called ‘Edward’. The toys which inspired Winnie-the-Pooh are now on display in The New York Public Library. Winnie-the-Pooh continues to be a timeless character that children and adults alike know as a household name, as demonstrated by the V&A Inside the Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic exhibition (December 2017-2018). Some of his other works which will be discussed below may not be as known.

Playwright

His first play was titled Wurzel-Flummery 1917. According to A.A. Milne’s biographer, Ann Thwaite met good reviews for its humour. In 1919, ‘Mr. Pim Passes By’ was created, performed in Manchester and London, and in 1921 New York. The plot of this play is based in Buckinghamshire. Milne goes on to revisit Mr. Pim in his novel ‘Mr. Pim’ 1921. He was also known to have adapted The Wind and the Willow as he transformed the tale into a stage production, titled ‘Toad of Toad Hall’, 1929.

War

As a result of his time serving the military he denounces war within ‘Peace with honour: an Enquiry into the War Convention’, published 1934. A.A. Milne was a Pacifist and this work is set to display how poisoned war is. It provides readers with a unique insight into Milne’s outlook on conflict. Aspects are later retracted in the 1940s in ‘War with honour’ as a result of World War II’s events.

Autobiography

It’s Too Late Now, 1939

According to this work, it is clear that A.A. Milne became frustrated at the rising success of Winnie-the-Pooh as he wrote a variety of works for the adult population which did not gain the same amount of success.