The Author of Winnie-the-Pooh

Alan Alexander Milne was born of English parents in London, United Kingdom, on

3 The first book of this series, When We were Young, were published in 1924, following were Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, Now We are Six in 1927 and The House at Pooh Corner in 1928.

January 18, 1882 and died in England on January 31, 1956. He was an Englishman, editor,

playwright and storyteller. His entire childhood was spent in Kilburn where his father ran a

school there. He had two brothers who lived with him. One of his brothers, Ken, was not only

Alan's brother but also his closest friend who greatly influenced and inspired him. We can

easily see Milne’s preoccupation with familial themes in his autobiography:

There was never any doubt that Barry was Mother's darling and that I was Father's,

leaving poor old Ken to take second place in both their hearts, and first in mine and

Barry's. (Autobiography, 150)⁴

Milne received his education at Henley House School, Westminster School, and Trinity College.

While he was studying there, he edited and wrote for an undergraduate magazine called Granta.

After his graduation from college, he worked for Punch, a satirical magazine, as an assistant

editor. This job also helped him develop his writing career. Following his time at Punch, he

joined the British army in World War I. during the war, he started to write plays about that

period, during which, he gradually became a mature writer. Afterwards, he was released from

the army in 1919 and the following January, his first famous play, Mr. Pim Passes By, was

produced in London. In August, his son, Christopher Robin, was born.

His son was one of his muses for his writing. Milne started to write children's poems when

Christopher Robin was three years old. Thwaite pointed out the position of Milne’s works for

that time: In 1924, When We Were Very Young, “the greatest children’s book since Alice” (233),

4 See the following website: http://www.pooh-corner.org/milne.shtml

was published and it was sold over fifty thousand copies within eight weeks (212). A year later,

the reader’s appetite for more of Milne’s books became evident. In 1926, the next book about

his son was published which contained short stories related to Christopher Robin's nursery toys.

The book was entitled Winnie-the-Pooh. Again, the books sold out quickly which showed its

popularity with readers. Moreover, in the following two years, Now We Are Six and The House

At Pooh Corner were issued one after the other. They both attained much success in his writing

career as his first two volumes.⁵ When The House At Pooh Corner was in circulation, Milne

stated that it was the last one of Christopher Robin’s stories he would write for. In Thwaite’s

essay, The End of a Chapter, he declared, “I have had my thrill out of children’s books, and

know that I shall never recapture it” (281). Milne was an expert in rendering the words. Indeed,

his unusual ability, humorous, a-mathematician-like style, gave him a different perspective to

play with words. Humphrey Carpenter implied that Milne manages words in the way that is

similar to the way a mathematician deals with figures (248).

There are several reasons that Milne stopped writing for children. He made it clear in an

essay that he named the child of his imagination exactly his son’s name and announced that he

did not create the animals but the element of “put them into a book” was the essential

constituent. He borrowed a name from his son and introduced his son’s friends to us. However,

for most of readers and even himself, it was hard to differentiate between the imaginary and the

legal Christopher Robin. Milne worried that the legal Christopher Robin earned too much

5 When We Were Very Young and Winnie-the-Pooh.

publicity than he wanted and this might upset him (279-280). One more important reason that

ended the writing of the Pooh stories for the modern readers can be found in another essay The

End of a Chapter of Milne. Milne stated his faith that writing is just a “thrill of exploring” to

him and when the thrill has gone, it is not worthy to go on writing anymore (281).

It was obvious that Milne did not want readers and press to only focus on his children

books. He wanted them to pay more attention to his novels and plays. However, many

readers barely knew his novels and plays but his four major children works in the setting

and themes of an “enchanted place.⁶” For readers, it is how successful he was in achieving

this. Undeniably, with Hundred-Acre-Wood he created a charming world so credible in

every tiny little detail that its timeless appeal. Millions of readers have enjoyed roaming in

the imaginary world he created.

Undoubtedly, all the various viewpoints mentioned above, language usage, humor,

thrill to write, and love of his only son, came together with gorgeous effect in his stories.

First, the children verses served as genesis to his success. Later, in his most famous four

works, When We Were Very Young, Winnie-the-Pooh, Now We Are Six and The House At

Pooh Corner, within these works, Milne who created best-loved characters now and forever

raised imaginative children stories into the higher levels of 20th century children literature.