An article in The Buffalo News on January 26, 2012 highlights the accomplishments of A. A. Milne in its section called Next which is published specifically for teenagers. Few people know that A. A. Milne is Alan Alexander Milne who was born in London in 1882, the youngest of three sons, and was the creator of Winnie the Pooh.
Alan and his wife Dorothy had only one child, Christopher Robin, born in 1920. As a child, Christopher loved to visit the London Zoo where he made friends with a bear named Winnie. Christopher named his toy bear after his friend Winnie. He also had a toy donkey which he named Eyeore, a stuffed pig named Piglet, and a toy tiger which he named Tigger. Friends of the classic “Winnie the Pooh” will recognize the names which A. A. Milne used in his tales. Of course, the young hero of his stories was named Christopher Robin.
The Hundred Acre Wood where the animals lived is patterned after an actual place called Ashdown Forest which is outside of London close to the farm where the Milne’s went on vacation and later lived permanently.
Alan Milne’s father, John, operated a school in London where Alan and his brothers Barry and Ken spent their early years. When Alan finished his college studies at Cambridge University, he took a job at “Punch” magazine, a British institution. His financial situation became more stable when owner Owen Seamen offered him the job of assistant editor. Owen introduced Alan to his goddaughter Dorothy DeSelincourt and the couple married in 1913. With the outbreak of the First World War, Alan joined the army in 1915 where he served as a signalman until 1919.
Upon his return to civilian life, Alan published a book of children’s verses in 1924 entitled “When We Were Very Young” with illustrations by his colleague from “Punch,” talented artist Ernest Shepard. The publication was an instant success, selling 50,000 copies in the first eight weeks.
The story of Winnie the Pooh debuted in 1926 followed by The House at Pooh Corner in 1928. Alan Milne concentrated much of his efforts on being a playwright; his play “Toad of Toad Hall,” adapted from Kenneth Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows,” continues to be a Christmas favorite worldwide.
Alan Alexander Milne died in 1956, an artist who was appreciated during his lifetime. In 1961, his wife Dorothy sold the film rights to Winnie the Pooh to Walt Disney who has introduced this wonderful tale to yet another generation. The Winnie-the-Pooh books have sold millions of copies around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages.
Sources:
http://www.winniethepooh.co.uk/author.html
http://www.just-pooh.com/milne.html
http://www.pooh-corner.org/milne.shtml
http://www.buffalonews.com/life/next/article716161.ece