A. A. Milne
born Jan. 18, 1882, London, Eng.
died Jan. 31, 1956, Hartfield, Sussex
English humorist, the originator of the
immensely popular stories of Christopher
Robin and his toy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh.
Milne attended Westminster School,
London, and Trinity College, Cambridge. In
1906 he joined the staff of Punch, writing
humorous verse and whimsical essays in a
style that quickly dated. He achieved
considerable success with a series of light
comedies such as Mr. Pim Passes By (1921)
and Michael and Mary (1930). Milne also
wrote one memorable detective novel, The Red
House Mystery (1922); and a children’s play,
Make-Believe (1918), before stumbling upon
his true literary métier with some verses
written for his son Christopher Robin. These
grew into the collections When We Were Very
Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927).
These remain classics of light verse for
children.
His most popular
works were the two sets of stories about the
adventures of Christopher Robin and his toy
animals—Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga, Roo,
Rabbit, Owl, and Eeyore—as told in
Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner
(1928). Ernest Shepard’s illustrations added
to the books’ charm. In 1929 Milne adapted
another children’s classic, The Wind in the
Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, for the stage
as Toad of Toad Hall. A decade later he
wrote his autobiography, It’s Too Late Now.
