AA Milne biography

Alan Alexander Milne was born on January 18, 1882. Growing up in London, Milne attended Henley House, a private school run by his father. By 1893, soon after leaving Henley House, Milne found himself studying at Westminster School and later, in 1903, obtaining a degree in mathematics from Cambridge University.

Often thought of as merely an author of children's novels, Milne was a poet, an essayist, a playwright, and an adult novelist as well. He began his writing career with humorous pieces for Punch magazine. It was in this publication, in 1923, that Winnie-the-Pooh made his first appearance in the poem Teddy Bear. Milne also wrote plays and by the time When We Were Very Young, his first book of poems for children, was published in 1924; he had already made his name as a dramatist and novelist.

In 1913, Milne married Dorothy DeSelincourt, the owner of Punch's goddaughter. Soon after they were married, on February 10, 1915, Milne joined the army as a signaling officer. While in the army, Milne wrote his first play, Wurzel Flummery.

As a married couple, Milne and DeSelincourt were simply comrades. DeSelincourt was described as 'an unattractive portrait of an extravagant social butterfly, glad to get her only child packed off to boarding school and eventually unfaithful to her patient, loving husband'. Together, they believed friendship was the most important part to a marriage. Later, Milne displayed his belief in the importance of friendship in The House at Pooh Corner through Pooh's friendship with Piglet.

E.H. Shepard, born in 1879, became known as the ‘Man who drew Pooh’, but was also an acclaimed artist in his own right. Shepard won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Arts, and later, like Milne, worked for Punch magazine as a cartoonist and an illustrator. Shepard’s illustrations of Winnie-the-Pooh and the friends of the Hundred Acre Wood have become classics in their own right and are recognised all over the world.

AA Milne books

• Lovers in London (1905)
• Once on a Time (1917)
• Mr. Pim (1921)
• The Red House Mystery (1922)
• Gallery of Children (1925)
• Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard)
• The House at Pooh Corner (1928) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard)
• Two People (1931)
• Four Days' Wonder (1933)
• Peace With Honour (1934)
• It's Too Late Now: The Autobiography of a Writer (1939)
• War With Honour (1940)
• Chloe Marr (1946)
• A Table Near the Band (1950)
• Year In, Year Out (1952) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard)

Latest news: AA Milne

The 2 Steves: Steve Skidmore and Steve Barlow interview (November 2009)
Authors Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore have always been experts in reaching out to children through their witty and accessible books, so it comes as no surprise that they are once more at the forefront of new developments in reading and literacy. With the anarchic Vernon Bright titles leading the [...]

Stephen Slesinger sues Disney over Pooh royalties
Winnie-the-Pooh is at the centre of a legal storm over his adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood. The firm founded by the man responsible for making the bear with very little brain big in the States is dragging Disney through the courts in a bid to get allegedly unpaid royalties. Lawyers for Stephen [...]

The Gruffalo voted favourite bedtime story by Radio 2 listeners
Listeners to BBC Radio 2 have voted Julia Donaldson's timeless children's tale The Gruffalo as the nation's favourite bedtime story. Nearly 20,000 listeners voted from a shortlist of eight books and the Gruffalo received around one-fifth of the vote. A.A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh came second and Eric [...]

Colfer and Benedictus are rewarded for their courage
Eoin Colfer and David Benedictus both deserve medals for bravery. In having the pluck to step into the shoes of the national treasure’s that are Douglas Adams and AA Milne they have put themselves on a pedestal that people were trying to knock them off before they had even written a word. William Ho [...]

Winnie-the-Pooh to hit the main stage theatre
Main Stage Theatre Set To Present WINNIE-THE-POOH 6/6, 6/13, 6/20, 7/11, 7/13-16, And 7/19 From the stories of AA Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh comes this sweet musical touring production of Winnie-the-Pooh.  Pooh, The Bear of Very Little Brain, and all his friends – Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, Kan [...]

Peter Dennis: 1933 - 2009
Peter Dennis, the British actor who toured for decades in his one-man show of readings from Winnie the Pooh and other AA Milne classics, died on April the 18th of cancer at his Shadow Hills home in the east San Fernando Valley. He was 75. His show, Bother! – taken from a favourite exclamation of P [...]

Audio-book review: Winnie the Pooh read by Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett reads AA Milne’s much loved stories about a small bear and his friends What is the connection between a Bear of Very Little Brain and a honey pot? Usually it’s the very sticky paw of Winnie-the-Pooh, as he takes a break between adventures for ‘a little something’. In these five stori [...]

The 26th Annual Pooh Sticks Championship – Sunday March 29 2009
Thousands of Winnie the Pooh fans will descend on a tiny Oxfordshire village next weekend to try their hand at an unusual English tradition. The 26th annual Pooh Sticks Championships, on the River Thames at Day’s Lock, Little Wittenham, will be held on Sunday, March 29, and competitors are gearing [...]

Join The Cambridge News Book Club today!
To celebrate World Book Day, the Cambridge News has teamed up with Heffers to launch The Cambridge News Book Club - a fantastic new service designed to save you money on the best new fiction and non-fiction titles. From AA Milne to EM Forster, Lord Byron to Lord Archer, Midnight's Children to Tom [...]

Wind in the Willows at Hyde Heath Village Hall
The exciting and often hair-raising adventures of Toad - from Toad Hall - are brought to life in spectacular fashion by Hyde Heath Drama Group in their latest production, The Wind in the Willows [link to book review by AA Milne]. Written by John Morley, this musical play for all the family is based [...]