A.A. Milne was an English writer, playwright and poet, mainly for children. Although he wrote many different kinds of books, he is most remembered as the author of the popular children's classic Winnie-the-Pooh.
Early Biography of A.A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was born on January 18, 1882 in London. At school one of his teachers was the science fiction writer H.G. Wells. Milne studied math at Cambridge University. At the age of 24, he went to work as assistant editor for Punch, a well-known satirical magazine.
When World War I broke out in 1914, he joined the army. The atrocities of the war he witnessed left him with a lifelong disgust of war and a longing for the innocence of childhood. While in the army, he wrote plays to amuse his comrades. After the war ended, he began a career as a playwright writing for stage comedies. He also started to write poetry for children.
Milne as Successful Children's Writer
At the age of 42, A.A. Milne became famous with the publication of his collection of poetry for children, When We Were Very Young. After two years, he followed this with the classic Winnie-the-Pooh, another children's collection of poetry. It is based on stories he told his own son Christopher Robin, which is also the name of the little boy whose animal friends are the main characters in Milne's book.
Although Milne continued to write books for adults, it was always his work for children that brought him recognition. He wrote a popular stage version of Kenneth Grahame's famous classic children's novel The Wind in the Willows. His second volume of children's poems, Now We Are Six, was as popular, and The House at Pooh Corner, which relates further adventures of Pooh Bear and friends, was also an instant success.
Last Words on A.A. Milne
Milne died on January 31, 1956, at the age of 74. From Pooh Bear to the other toy-characters, A.A. Milne's brilliance and sense of humour are evident, something that human beings can recognize, and perhaps, learn from.
One Milne quote from Winnie-the-Pooh, by which the character Piglet displays his typical fear as well as trust: "It isn't their necks I mind," said Piglet earnestly. "It's their teeth. But if Christopher Robin is coming I don't mind anything."
Works by A.A. Milne
- Mr. Pim Passes By, 1919
- The Red House Mystery, 1921
- The Truth about Blayds, 1921
- The Dover Road, 1922
- When We Were Very Young, 1924
- Winnie-the-Pooh, 1926
- Now We are Six, 1927
- The House at Pooh Corner, 1928
- The Perfect Alibi, 1932
- It's Too Late Now, 1939
Sources:
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
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