Alan Milne short biography. Alan Milne short biography Early years and education

Alexander Alan Milne (A.A. Milne, 1882-1956) is a famous British writer, playwright, poet and publicist. The general public is known as the author of children's poems and fairy tales about Winnie the Pooh, which have become classics of world literature. They have been successfully filmed in many countries around the world, including Russia. Alan Milne wrote many plays that were staged in theaters in New York, Chicago, Manchester, and Liverpool.

Childhood and youth

Alexander Alan Milne was born on January 18, 1882 in London in the Kilburn area. His father, John Milne, a teacher by training, owned a small private school, where his son studied. As a child, Alan felt jealous of his older brother, to whom, it seemed to him, his mother paid more attention. This will affect the writer’s future life, in which he will constantly prove that he is worthy of the love of others.

Among the boy's mentors was the famous science fiction writer H. Wells. Upon completion of his studies, he entered Westminster School, after which he studied the secrets of mathematics at Trinity College for three years.

From a young age, the future writer became interested in writing, and his family helped him in every possible way in his creative development, which did not fail to affect him in the future. During his student years, Alexander, together with his brother Kenneth, under the pseudonym AKM, wrote small notes, verses and fairy tales for the student newspaper "Grant".

Carier start

The brothers’ works turned out to be so in demand that Alan soon felt confident in his abilities and sent his work to the popular humorous publication “Punch” in Foggy Albion. But, to deep disappointment, his essay was not accepted.

Soon Milne sent another work - a parody of Sherlock Holmes - to the magazine Vanity Fair, where, to the surprise of the author, it was published. After this he will say: "The first appearance of my initials in a magazine... filled me with a kind of shame."

At that time, public fame was still a novelty for a modest young man.

At 24, Milne's dream came true. He became a full-time contributor to Punch magazine. His name began to appear on the pages of the publication weekly, and orders were booked months in advance. The sparkling, subtle humor expressed in poetry and prose captivated the reader, making him sincerely laugh at the characters.

In 1914, the First World War began. An opponent of wars, Alan Milne volunteered for the front, deeply convinced that this war would end all other conflicts. Disgusted by what is happening, he writes at the front at night to take his mind off the flow of blood and dead bodies. Under these conditions, the writer’s first war work, “Wurzel’s Chat,” was born. In memory of this period of life, 20 years later, the book “Peace with Honor” was written, imbued with pacifist sentiments.

After returning from the war, Milne set off on an independent voyage, completely devoting himself to his own plays. In 1921, he wrote the play “Mr. Pin Passes By,” staged on theater stages in many English and American cities. On the wave of success, a year later, Alan writes the novel “The Mystery of the Red House,” which one of the critics called the best detective story of all time.

In 1923, the family moved to North Wales for the summer, but due to the endless rain, the writer spends hours in the gazebo, peering into the sky and looking for inspiration. This is how a collection of children's poems called “When We Were Very Little” appeared, printed in record numbers. He wrote it about his son and for his son. True, later in his memoirs, Christopher Robin will say that his father based the creation of his works not on personal experience of communicating with a child, who simply did not exist, but on general ideas. And indeed it is. In the family, all issues of raising their son were entrusted to the boy’s beloved nanny.

The blossoming of a creative career

In October 1926, a book about Winnie the Pooh, a cheerful little bear with sawdust in his head, was first published in Britain. The author did not at all expect that it would create a real sensation and his name would immediately become known throughout the country. It was a rare newspaper that did not publish a photo of a famous and successful writer. Soon in an interview Milne will say: "I think that each of us dreams of immortality."

As Alexander later explained, he meant to preserve his name in people's memory.

Translated into many languages, the book excited the minds of publishers, and they demanded a continuation. Milne just needed money to treat his brother Ken, who had tuberculosis. After some persuasion, the fairy tale “The House on Pooh Edge” was written, which became the last in this cycle.

Milne's work was adapted into Russian by B. Zakhoder, who managed to accurately convey the colorful image of a good-natured bear. Despite the popular love for Winnie the Pooh, there was a person who hated this character. It turned out to be the hero of the fairy tale himself - the writer's son Christopher, who claimed that she had darkened his life. And Alan himself admitted many times that more than once he really wanted to hide from this fame.

After the death of his beloved brother Ken, in 1929, Milne wrote a new play, Michael and Mary, dedicated to the memory of a close relative. Two years later it will be staged in New York. As it turned out, this was the last serious success in the author’s creative career.

After the outbreak of World War II, Alan and his family moved to his estate, where he often imagined his childhood, his parents, and his beloved brother. The writer’s head comes up with the idea of ​​writing his own autobiography, which he will call “Too Late,” imbued with warm memories of his brother.

Personal life

In 1913, at one of the parties, Alexander met Dorothy de Selincourt, who was the goddaughter of Punch editor O. Seaman. Having gained strength and overcome his eternal shyness, he invited the girl to dance and lost his head in love. The next day the writer proposed marriage and received consent.

It turns out that Daphne (as her family called her) more than once read the works of her future husband, published in Punch magazine, and was familiar with him in absentia. Assessing this fact, Milne will say: "She had... the best sense of humor in the world."

However, over time it turns out that their marriage is far from perfect. Dorothy's complex and capricious character, coupled with her fanatical passion for the garden, because of which she paid little attention to her husband, created a deep crack in the relationship. Despite this, in 1920 the couple had their only son, Christopher Robin. As it turned out, his birth seriously influenced the creative fate of his father.

In 1931, Daphne left Milne and went to live with an American. Years later, she will return to her husband without encountering a single reproach from him.

In 1952, the writer suffered a severe stroke, from which he was never able to recover. On January 31, 1956, Alan Milne died in London after a long illness. In 1961, Daphne, to the great disappointment of her own son, sold the rights to the Winnie the Pooh works to Walt Disney.

British writer Alan Aleksander Milne remains in the history of literature and the memory of readers as the author of stories about a teddy bear with sawdust in his head, and a number of poems. He considered himself a serious playwright and short story writer. Milne Alan Alexander lived his life under this paradox, whose biography will be discussed below.

Early years and education

In the family of the director of a private school in London, John Vine and Sarah Marie Milne, a third son, Alan Alexander, was born on January 18, 1882. A. A. Milne was educated at Westminster School and then at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. At the same time, together with his brother Kenneth, he published articles under the initials AKM in the student magazine Grant. In 1903, Milne Alan Alexander moved to London, whose biography will now be connected with his true calling - literature.

War and the beginning of literary activity

Since 1906, he has been published in Punch magazine, and humorous poems and essays have been published in other magazines since 1914. In 1915, A. A. Milne left to serve as an officer in the British army. He was wounded at the Battle of the Somme. After recovery, he works in the military intelligence propaganda service and writes patriotic articles. He was demobilized with the rank of lieutenant in 1919. During the war, he wrote his first play, but success came after 1920, when comedies appeared in theaters, favorably received by critics and the public. At the same time, 4 films were shot based on his scripts. In 1922, he published a detective story called “Secrets of the Red House.”

Marriage and literature

In 1913, on the eve of the war, A. Milne married Dorothy de Selkencourt. The personal life and military service of the writer, whose name was Milne Alan Alexander, went inextricably. His biography was replenished with 18 plays and 3 novels by 1925. And earlier his son was born (August 1920). In 1924, A. Milne published a collection of children's poems, When We Were Young, and bought a house in Hartfield in 1925.

At the same time, short stories for children “Children's Gallery” were published, which he later used when writing his most popular work. Life and creativity went in parallel. So far Milne Alan Alexander, whose biography began to change in 1926, had every reason to be satisfied. It was from this time that he began to be perceived as exclusively a children's writer.

Cult fairy tale "Winnie the Pooh"

A. Milne's son had toys: Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Tigger. Below is their photo.

They are now in New York. 750 thousand people visit them annually to see them. Milne named the hero of his tale "Winnie" after seeing a Canadian black bear from Winnipeg at the zoo. “Pooh” comes from a swan that the writer met while on vacation. This is how Winnie the Pooh turned out. Three more characters - Owl, Rabbit and Roo - were created solely from the writer's imagination. In 1926, the first version of Winnie the Pooh was published. The following year, the sequel “Now We Are Six” was published, and a year later the finale appeared - “The House on the Pooh Edge.”

The first book immediately brought worldwide fame and money. The writer was not dizzy from fame and success. Being in doubt about his literary talent, Milne Alan Alexander, whose biography and work in the minds of readers were tightly connected with Vinnie, tried to break out of the existing stereotype of a children's writer. But the charming heroes did not let him go. The book was published in insane editions; its number exceeded 7 million copies during A. Milne’s lifetime. It was translated into all foreign languages. Cartoons were created based on it. She began to live an independent life, eclipsing everything that A. Milne worked on further.

Life goes on

On the one hand, A. Milne was grateful to his wife and son for creating the book, but on the other hand, he did not introduce his son Christopher Robin to it. Milne read to his son the works of his friend P. G. Wodehouse, whose work he admired. And the adult son then, in turn, raised his daughter Claire on the stories and tales of the amazing humorist Wodehouse.

Alan Alexander Milne wrote a lot from 1931 onwards. His books will not meet with such an enthusiastic reception as the simple-minded, slightly selfish Vinny. In 1931 the novel “Two” was published, in 1933 - “A Very Short-lived Sensation”, in 1934 - the anti-war work “Honorable Peace”, in 1939 - “Too Late” (an autobiographical work), in 1940-1948 . - poetic works “Behind the Front Line” and “Norman Church”, in 1952 - a collection of articles “Year after Year”, in 1956 - the novel “Chloe Marr”.

The writer worked hard, and critics and readers greeted this creativity with indifference and indifference. Alan Alexander Milne found himself hostage to his charming hero, who immortalized his name.

Why is Vinnie so attractive?

The story told by A. Milne fired like a fireworks, a volley of cheerfulness and vivacity. There is no struggle between good and evil, but there is a slight irony with which the author observes his characters, whom he settled in a fairy-tale forest, very reminiscent of the surroundings of his own home. Time in a fairy tale is frozen and does not change. Robin, the owner of the toys, is always 6 years old, Winnie - 5, Piglet - an awful lot - 3 or 4 years old! Plush Vinnie is an optimist who greets every day with pleasure.

Problems and suffering are alien to him. He is a glutton and a gourmet. When the Rabbit invites him to choose what he will eat: bread with honey or with condensed milk, then, following the rules of good upbringing, Winnie with a sweet tooth refuses three items of food, leaving only honey and condensed milk. This is where it gets funny. The little bear has sawdust in his head, but he makes noisemakers and chants. He is ready at any moment to help his friends or pretend that he is a cloud and go to the bees for honey. Good fantasies are constantly born in his “smart” little head. Other characters are also charming: the pessimistic Donkey, the learned Owl, and the shy Piglet. They all expect praise and take themselves very seriously.

Last years

During the 2nd World War, A. Milne's son Christopher tried to join the army, but did not get into it for medical reasons. He later married his cousin, which upset his parents. A. Milne gave birth to a granddaughter, Claire, who suffers from cerebral palsy. The father occasionally met with his son, but the mother did not want to see him. A. A. Milne himself died after a severe brain illness (which began in 1952) in 1956 at his home in Hartfield.

Alan Alexander Milne: interesting facts

• The teacher at the school where A. Milne studied was G. Wells, whom the writer considered both a teacher and a friend.
• On his first birthday, the writer gave his one-year-old son a Teddy bear, whom he named Edward. Only in the book did he turn into Vinnie and was a year younger than its main character.

• The book has been translated into 25 languages, including Latin.
• The number of records sold with the recording of the book exceeded 20 million copies.
• Christopher Robin himself first became acquainted with the book sixty years after its creation.
• His father sent his toys to the USA. They can be viewed at the New York Public Library.
• Images of Vinny appeared on stamps from 18 countries, including the USSR after the release of the cartoon.
• A series of stamps from Canada, one depicts the lieutenant with Winnipeg Bear, the second - Christopher with a teddy bear, the third - the heroes of the classic illustrations for the book, and finally the fourth - Winnie from the Disney cartoon.

From 1906 to 1914 he was assistant to the publisher of Punch magazine.

During the First World War he served in the British Army.

In 1917, he published the fairy tale Once on a Time, and in 1921, the comedy play Mr. Pim Passed By, which became one of the most popular dramatic plays. works of the author. The play was performed in Manchester, London and New York in the 1920s.

In 1920, Alan Milne and his wife Dorothy had a son, Christopher Robin. From the stories and poems Alan wrote for his child, a book of children's poems, When We Were Very Young, was born in 1924, which three years later had a sequel, Now We Are Six). In the book "When We Were Little" a poem about a Teddy Bear appears for the first time. Both editions were illustrated by Ernest Howard Shepard, the artist who drew the famous image of Winnie the Pooh.

Some of the poems later.

In 1934, Milne, a pacifist, published the book Peace With Honour, which called for peace and renunciation of war. The book became a source of serious controversy.

In the 1930s, Milne wrote the novels Two People (1931), Four Days Wonder, 1933. In 1939 he wrote his autobiography, It's Too Late Late Now). Milne's last novel, Chloe Marr, was published in 1946.

In 1952, the writer suffered a stroke. On 31 January 1956, Alan Alexander Milne died at his home in Harefield in Sussex.

The copyright for the Winnie the Pooh books was owned by four beneficiaries - Alan Milne's family, the Royal Foundation for Literature, Westminster School and the Garrick Club. After the writer's death, his widow sold her share to the Walt Disney Company, which produced the famous cartoons about Winnie the Pooh. In 2001, the other beneficiaries sold their shares to Disney Corporation for $350 million.

The writer's son Christopher Robin Milne (1920-1996) became a writer, following in his father's footsteps, and wrote several memoirs: "Enchanted Places", "After Winnie the Pooh", "The Hole on the Hill".

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Years of life: from 01/18/1882 to 12/31/1956

English writer, poet and playwright, best known for his works for children. Author of the famous "Winnie the Pooh".

Alan Alexander Milne was born on January 18, 1882 in London. Since childhood I dreamed of becoming a writer. He studied at a private school, owned by his father. Then he entered Westminster School, and then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics.

He took part in the First World War as an officer in the British army, and then spent many years working in the editorial office of the English humor magazine Punch and became an assistant editor. In 1913, he married Dorothy de Selincourt, goddaughter of magazine editor Owen Seaman (who was said to be the psychological prototype of Eeyore), and his only son, Christopher Robin, was born in 1920. By that time, Milne had already been to war and written several funny plays, one of which, “Mr. Pym Passed,” was a success.

It was thanks to the birth of Christopher Robin that stories about the “bear with sawdust in his head” were born. Milne told his son stories about Winnie the Pooh and his friends at night. The heroes of these stories were the boy’s toys and himself. In 1926, the first book about Winnie the Pooh was published, and two years later the second, entitled “The House on Pooh Edge,” was published.

Most readers in our country are familiar with stories about Winnie the Pooh from translations by Boris Zakhoder. The heroes of the writer Alan Milne are known and loved by children all over the world. Cartoons have been made based on fairy tales, and there is even a monument to Winnie the Pooh at the London Zoo.

The incredible popularity of Milne's children's books dampened his successes in other genres. Meanwhile, Milne is the author of novels, short stories, poems and plays.

In 1952, the writer underwent unsuccessful brain surgery and was disabled for the last 4 years of his life. Milne died in Hartfield on January 31, 1956.

At the school where Alan Milne studied, H. G. Wells taught.

As a student, he wrote notes for the student newspaper Grant. He usually wrote with his brother Kenneth, and they signed the notes with the name AKM.

Winnie the Pooh's official date of birth is August 21, 1921, which is the day Christopher Robin Milne turned one. On this day, Milne gave his son a teddy bear (which, however, received the name Pooh only four years later).

Christopher Robin's toys, which became the prototypes of the book's characters (except for Little Roo, who has not survived), have been in the USA since 1947 (given there by Milne the Father for an exhibition, and after his death acquired by the Dutton publishing house), until 1969 they were kept in the publishing house, and currently on display at the New York Public Library. Many Britons believe that this vital part of the country's cultural heritage should return to its homeland. The issue of toy restitution was even raised in the British Parliament (1998).

One of the most famous translations of the Pooh books into foreign languages ​​is Alexander Lenard's translation into Latin called Winnie ille Pu. The first edition was published in 1958, and in 1960 Latin Pooh became the first non-English book to appear on the New York Times bestseller list. On the cover of a number of publications, Vinnie is depicted in the garb of a Roman legionnaire with a short sword in his left paw.

Winnie the Pooh is depicted on postage stamps of at least 18 countries (including the USSR Post Office in 1988, a stamp dedicated to the history of the Soviet cartoon). The Canadian series of four stamps also deserves special mention, where one stamp depicts Lieutenant Harry Colborne with a Winnipeg bear cub, the other - little Christopher Robin with a teddy bear, the third - characters from Shepard's illustrations, the fourth - Disney's Pooh against the backdrop of Walt Disney World in Florida.

Bibliography

Fairy tales
Prince Rabbit
Princess Nesmeyana
An ordinary fairy tale

Stories
The truth is in the wine
Christmas story
Amazing story
Mr. Findlater's Dreams
Christmas grandfather
Before the flood

Exactly at eleven
Portrait of Lydia
River

Novels
Lovers in London (1905)
(eng. Once on a Time, 1917)
Mr. Pim (eng. Mr. Pim, 1921)
The Red House Mystery, 1922
(eng. Two People, 1931)
(eng. Four Days "Wonder, 1933)
Chloe Marr (eng. Chloe Marr, 1946)

Film adaptations of works, theatrical performances

List of Disney films about Winnie the Pooh :
Short cartoons
1966: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree)
1968: Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
1974: Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (Winnie the Pooh, and with him Tigger)
1981: Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons
1983: Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore (Pooh and a holiday for Eeyore)
Full-length cartoons
1977: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”; combines the first three short cartoons)
1997: Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
1999: Seasons of Giving
2000: The Tigger Movie
2002: A Very Merry Pooh Year
2003: Piglet’s Big Movie
2004: Springtime with Roo (Spring days with baby Roo)
2005: Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (Winnie the Pooh and Halloween for the Heffalump)
2007: My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie
2009: My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Tigger and Pooh And A Musical Too
TV serials
Welcome to Pooh Corner (Welcome to Pooh Corner, Disney Channel, 1983-1995)
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, ABC, 1988-1991)
The Book of Pooh (Puhova Book, Disney Channel, 2001-2002)
My Friends Tigger & Pooh (My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Disney Channel, 2007-)
Holiday Specials
1991: Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too! (Winnie the Pooh and Christmas)
1996: Boo! To You Too! Winnie the Pooh (Boo! You too! Winnie the Pooh)
1998: A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving
1998: Winnie the Pooh, A Valentine For You

Animated films produced in the USSR and Russia :
Winnie the Pooh. USSR, 1969.
Winnie the Pooh is coming to visit. USSR, 1971.
Winnie the Pooh and Care Day. USSR, 1972.
Why I like the elephant (from the almanac “Merry Carousel”, No. 15): Based on the poem by A.A. Milne. USSR, 1983.
Royal Sandwich: Based on the poem by A.A. Milne, translated by S.Ya. Marshak. USSR, 1985.
Nikopeyka: Based on a children's poem by A.A. Milne. Russia, 1999.

Before the publication of fairy tales about a teddy bear with sawdust in his head, Alan Milne was a serious English playwright: he wrote novels and short stories, and composed poems. The stories about “Winnie the Pooh” fulfilled the writer’s dream - they immortalized the name, but until the end of his life Milne regretted that the world would remember him exclusively for stories about the bear cub.

Childhood and youth

Alan Alexander Milne was born on January 18, 1882 in London, the third child of Jamaican-born John Vine and British mother Sarah Marie (née Hedginbotham). The father worked as the headmaster of Henley private school, and Milne's children studied there.

Alan's teacher was the future famous science fiction writer, author of the novels “The Time Machine” and “War of the Worlds.” Of the two older brothers - Kenneth and Barry - Alan was more attached to Kenneth. In his 1939 autobiography Too Late, Milne wrote:

“Ken had one advantage over me - he was good, much better than me. After consulting Dr. Murray's work, I discover that the word "good" has fourteen meanings, but none of them convey what I mean by describing Ken. And while I continue to say that he was kinder, more generous, more forgiving, more tolerant and more merciful than I was, suffice it to say that Ken was better.

Of the two of us, you would definitely prefer him. I may have surpassed my older brother in academics, sports and even appearance - as a baby he was dropped to the ground with his nose (or picked up from the ground by his nose, we never came to a consensus), but poor Ken, or old Ken, knew how to trod a path to the heart anyone."

The parents gave the boys a decent education. Alan studied at Westminster School and graduated from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge in 1903 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. However, my heart was drawn to creativity.

While still in college, Alan and Kenneth wrote for the student magazine Granta. The humorous works, published under the initials AKM (Alan Kennet Milne), were noticed by the editors of the leading British humor magazine Punch. This is where the biography of Milne the writer began.

Books

After graduation, Milne began writing humorous poems, essays and plays for Punch, and 3 years later the author was hired as an assistant editor. During this time, Alan managed to make profitable contacts in literary circles. So, James Barry invited him to the Allahakbarries cricket team. At various times, Milne shared sports equipment with and other English writers and poets.

In 1905, Alan Milne released his debut novel, Lovers in London, which did not have an intricate plot or deep problems. At the center of the story is a young British man, Teddy, and his friend Amelia. Against the backdrop of London in the 1920s, they fall in love, quarrel, and dream of a happy future.

Critics received the book coolly, however, encouraging him for his sharp and topical articles in Punch. This forced Milne to leave “great” literature for a while and concentrate on what he was good at - stories and plays. But the First World War forced the playwright to put down his pen.

On 1 February 1915 Alan was called up as a lieutenant in the Royal Yorkshire Regiment. A year later, on July 7, he was wounded at the Battle of the Somme and sent home for treatment. The injury prevented him from returning to the front line, and he was recruited into military intelligence to write propaganda leaflets for MI7. On February 14, 1919, Milne was fired, and a year later, when the opportunity arose to recover, he abandoned his further military career. The events of the First World War are reflected in the stories “Peace with Honor” (1934) and “War with Honor” (1940).

Milne published four plays during the war years. The first, “Wurzel-Flummery,” was written in 1917 and immediately staged at the London Noël Coward Theatre. Initially, the work had three acts, but for ease of perception it had to be reduced to two.

Also in 1917, the second novel “Once upon a time, a long time ago...” was published, which began with the words: “This is a strange book.” The work is a typical tale telling about the war between the kingdoms of Euralia and Barodia. But it turns out that this fairy tale is not for children at all.

Milne created characters that kids wouldn't want to be like. The princess is able to get out of the tower on her own without waiting for rescue, the prince, although handsome, is vain and pompous, and the villain is not so bad. An interesting fact is that the prototype of Countess Belvane - proud and arrogant, prone to melodramatic, emotional behavior - was Milne's wife, Dorothy de Selincourt.

In 1922, Milne became famous for his detective novel “The Mystery of the Red House,” written in the best traditions of Arthur Conan Doyle and. The plot centers on a murder committed under strange circumstances. American critic and journalist Alexander Woollcott called the novel "one of the best stories of all time." The work turned out to be so popular that it was reprinted 22 times in the UK.

In 1926, Alan Milne's most famous book, Winnie the Pooh, was published. The author wrote the story about the teddy bear for his son, who at the age of 4 saw a Canadian bear named Winnie at the zoo. The beloved plush toy was renamed from "Edward Bear" to - Christopher thought Winnie's fur felt like swan's down.

The remaining characters - Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo's son, Tigger - were also copied from Christopher's favorite toys. They are currently kept in the New York Public Library. Every year, an average of 750 thousand people come to see them.

Winnie the Pooh has become popular far beyond the UK. In the 1960s, a children's writer translated the stories about the bear (with the exception of two chapters of the original) into Russian and combined them into the book “Winnie the Pooh and All-All-All.”

In 1969, Soyuzmultfilm released the first part of the adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The bear “talked” in the voice of the famous Soviet theater and film actor. Two years later, the cartoon “Winnie the Pooh Comes to Visit” was released, and a year later - “Winnie the Pooh and the Day of Worries.” It is characteristic that Soyuzmultfilm did not have Christopher Robin, one of the main characters, a friend of Winnie the Pooh.

The success of the tale about the bear cub first pleased Alan Milne, and then angered him - from now on he was perceived not as the author of serious novels, but as the “father” of Winnie the Pooh. Critics deliberately gave negative reviews of the novels that came out after the fairy tale - “Two”, “A Very Short-lived Sensation”, “Chloe Marr”, just to read another line about Christopher Robin and the bear.

There was another reason - the son did not like the popularity that had fallen on him. Milne once said:

“I feel like I ruined Christopher Robin's life. The character should have been named Charles Robert."

Ultimately, the boy became angry with his parents for putting his childhood on public display, and stopped communicating with them. It is assumed that the family conflict was finally resolved, since Christopher Robin attended the opening ceremony of the bear monument at the London Zoo. The statue is dedicated to Alan Milne. In a photo from that day, the 61-year-old man lovingly strokes the fur of his childhood heroine.

Personal life

In 1913, Alan Milne married the goddaughter of Punch magazine editor Dorothy de Selincourt, known to her friends as Daphne. It is noteworthy that the girl agreed to marry the writer the next day after they met.

The newly-made wife turned out to be demanding and capricious, and Alan, who was in love, indulged her. Journalist Barry Gun described family relationships this way:

“If Daphne, with a capricious curl of her lips, demanded that Alan jump from the roof of London's St. Paul's Cathedral, he most likely would have done so. In any case, 32-year-old Milne volunteered for the front of the First World War, which began a year after his marriage, solely because his wife really liked the officers in uniform who flooded the city.”

Robin Christopher Milne was born on August 21, 1920. The child did not save the family from separation: in 1922, Dorothy left Alan for a foreign singer, but, unable to build a personal life with him, she returned.

Death

In 1952, the writer suffered a stroke and was unable to recover from it.

Death found Alan Milne on December 31, 1956, at the age of 74. The cause was a severe brain disease.

Bibliography

• 1905 – “Lovers in London”
• 1917 – “Once upon a time...”
• 1921 – “Mr. Pym”
• 1922 – “The Mystery of the Red House”
• 1926 – “Winnie the Pooh”
• 1928 – “House on Poohovaya Edge”
• 1931 – “Two”
• 1933 – “A very short-lived sensation”
• 1939 – “Too Late”
• 1946 – “Chloe Marr”