this book is definately a page turner, i grew up with winnie the pooh so wanted to know more about the author, really found it hard to put down which suprised me as this isnt my usual kind of read, anyone wanting to read the history behind winnie the pooh will love this book

Author Nadia Cohen creates what is almost a dual biography in "The Extraordinary life of A A Milne" -- not only does she examine the life of the British author and playwright, but by tracing the events, influences, and needs in his life, she creates a biography of Winnie the Pooh, too.

In Cohen's telling, Milne's life is accomplished and successful, but filled with annoyance, from his restlessness while teaching school to his frustration at being defined by his most famous works, the stories about his son's eponymous alter ego and Winnie the Pooh and the other stuffed animals that inhabit the Hundred-Acre Woods.

It's a sad story that left Milne alienated from his wife, his son, and many others in his life. But, thanks to Cohen's masterful approach, the reader walks away with a feeling of deeper understanding about Milne and his work, rather than a sense of sadness over his life.

Anyone who has been curious about Winnie the Pooh's backstory -- or the life of a celebrated author between the wars -- will find this an engrossing book.

Alan Alexander Milne is probably best known for the creation of Winnie the Pooh and friends. But AA Milne was also a playwright, screen writer and novelist. Even 60 years after his death, he is a mystery to many. He died resentful because he was only known as a 'whimsical' children's author. His son, Christopher Robin, felt exploited, even though the stories were a combination of things that happened to Christopher, things that happened during AA Milne's childhood and other things that were made up. But Christopher was always picked on about being the "real" Christopher Robin. He ended up marrying his first cousin which led to them having a handicapped child - their daughter, Clare, had Cerebral Palsy. Alan married Daphne and they slept in separate rooms. Many believe Daphne to be 'anti sex'. Most of Christopher's time was spent with a nanny growing up. It is also said that the home they lived in was cursed - it was sold to Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, who ended up found dead in the pool.

This book was fascinating to find out about all that was going on behind the scenes. I love Winnie the Pooh and his crew and the stories, but I didn't realize how it was Daphne that seemed to play more with the toys than Christopher and all that went on with Alan and how he wanted to be known for his other writings as well. Definitely a fascinating read.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

This book truly is wonderful. I have enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh stories my entire life. They have been very important to me and my first books were this collection. When I had children of my own Winnie the Pooh was a big part of their life too. Reading this book gave me more information about the man and his family that wrote the stories. I always enjoy learning about the writer and their inspiration. The book was well written as well.

Wow! I grew up reading A.A. Milne’s books and they were a great part of my childhood. It was really interesting to read about the author behind so many of my cherishered books.

*thank you to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.

While I loved this cover and I also love Winnie The Pooh, I did not love this book. I think it's for the fans who are probably a bit obsessed over the show, which isn't me, though the show does have a special place in my heart. There were too many parts of this that I found uninteresting and skipped over. It was nice though to have a better understanding of A.A Milne and readers will find out things that they probably previously did not know. Unfortunately though it wasn't a favourite of mine but I am grateful for having the chance to have read it. I dont regret that.

I suppose, with any biography, you have to be incredibly interested in the lives of the subject in order to find joy in reading about them. However, I have since discovered, that despite how much I liked Winnie-The-Pooh as a child, I find I am just not that interested in the life of A. A. Milne. There is an incredible amount of detail, as expected, but I just couldn't be bothered with caring about it. Also, at 20% of the way into the book, it occurred to me that a large part of what made me uneasy about it was the emphasis on the fact that he didn't want to be known as a children's author, or even worse, may not have even liked children at all. Now there's a way to turn people off of your stories. Now, this review doesn't, at all, negate the magical qualities of Pooh and his life in the Hundred Acre Wood. I will always cherish the stories and look back at them fondly, and maybe one day read them to children of my own. However, for this particular biography subject, I find that I would probably be satisfied with reading his Wikipedia article rather than a whole book. Great for die-hard fans of Milne (do those people even exist?) who want to know how he got to where he did, but for the rest of us, it's probably just best to skip it.

What a superbly written insight into one of the world's best loved authors! We all best know Milne for his children’s books and for the legacy that is Winnie the Pooh. This book strips back his life, his work and his views on life. A really interesting read for all book fans.

A fascinating tale of the author A. A. Milne, his writing, his family, and the time in which he lived. Milne was a mass of contradictions, both proud and hounded by the success of the Winnie the Pooh stories, close and yet ultimately estranged from his only son, and a pacifist who supported the second World War in several critical ways. This is a readable biography that had me returning to Milne’s works with curiosity and a lively interest.

After finishing Nadia Cohen's newly published biography of the writer A.A. Milne, I reached for my well thumbed and somewhat tatty copy of The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature and turned to page 357, fondly taking in the first few lines of In Which Eeyore Loses a Tail and Pooh Finds One.

It's a very long time since I first read the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh, but like so many people born in the last eighty odd years, the motley animals of Hundred Acre Wood are deeply embedded in my childhood memories – in my case, they are strongly associated with being snuggled up in a cosy bed, book balanced on my knees, fingers curled around a steaming mug of Horlicks.

With this in mind, it makes me sad to think that both Alan Alexander Milne and his son, Christopher Robin Milne, on whom his storylines were based, came to deeply resent these whimsical tales of a boy and his bear. Alan because the fame of Pooh utterly eclipsed all his other written works – although he made a vast fortune from him - and Christopher because he was ridiculed mercilessly in school, eventually coming to believe his childhood had been stolen from him.

In 1939 Milne senior wrote an amusing but restrained autobiography (republished earlier this year by Bello): It's Too Late Now, and his son later produced several memoirs detailing the relationship he had with his famous father, from adoration to enmity. However, Cohen's relatively short (216 page), far from scholarly life history is certainly engaging, and what it lacks in meaningful literary analysis, it gains in readability.

She Tiggerishly scampers through Milne's early life as a British spy, playwright and humorist, up to and including the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, then more leisurely traces his post-Pooh career, difficult marriage to Daphne de Sélincourt, latter compositions and disgruntled dotage - until his death in 1956 at the age of 74.

While The Extraordinary Life of A A Milne will undoubtedly delight fans, it will probably appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in the author and his famous teddy bear. One hopes that it also brings fresh interest in his Pooh-free plays, novels and non-fiction.

A.A. Milne has been one of my favorite authors since I was given the poetry book, When We
We’re Very Young at the tender age of 7. My mother would help me read some of the words i struggled with and my imagination would join the escapades happening in the poems. I still read the compilation every year.

So to delve deeper into the life of Alan, especially as a youngster, was like learning about a dear friend and hearing things you never expected. It makes me sad that he felt unappreciated for his works that didn’t entail Winnie the Pooh, because I enjoyed all his writings. His mystery novel, The Red House Mystery was my first delve into British novels.
His relationship with Christopher Robin was heartbreaking, however so many family relationships are curiously tenuous, although not usually over the stories of a children’s book. The insight that more of the Hundred Acre Wood’s Christopher experiences was closer to Alan’s life and not his son’s makes the lack of relationship even more heartbreaking.
I appreciated Nadia Cohen’s extensive research, her way of writing Alan’s story and her insight into his interactions with his closest friends.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Extraordinary Life of AA Milne.

Great book. Huge Disney fan. Loved learning about A A Milne and his fascination with teddy bears

There was obviously a whole lot of research behind this biography of Alan Alexander Milne, his family and his time. I enjoyed it as much for the insights into England during and between the World Wars as for the more personal look into the lives of the Milne family. This work makes you feel like Alan and his wife Daff and Christopher Robin were living just around the corner of time. There were disappointments - I hated that Alan was disappointed that his plays and novels, nice as they were, were overshadowed by his timeless children's stories. Hated that for a time Christopher was bullied because of his role in the popular Pooh stories. But there were wonderful highs, as well. Alan and Daff managed to continue to rub along in tandem despite their occasional unhappiness. Alan was able to get past his passive leanings to use his pen to support the military during WWII. Christopher came home from his trek through the war, with injuries but healed. Altogether an interesting look at a very special family.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Nadia Cohen, and Pen & Sword History in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Wow! Thanks so very much to Netgalley, Pen and Sword and the author, Nadia Cohen, for the opportunity to rave about this book!

I loved it and was surprised at how difficult it was to put down. I finished it within 48 hours of starting and that was down to the excellent way the book is put together. It's a fascinating insight into the mind, life and family of this great Author. I didn't realise what a prolific writer he was (he'd be gutted to know that I knew him solely for his Winnie the Pooh books) and I found his relationships with his wife and son riveting.

I also enjoyed the 'Winnie the Pooh' quotes at the beginning of each chapter and the photographs at the end of the book. Just wonderful.

5 stars without hesitation.

The Extraordinary Life of A A Milne

by Nadia Cohen

Pen & Sword

Pen and Sword History
Biographies & Memoirs , History

Pub Date 30 Nov 2017

I am reviewing a copy of the Extraordinary Life Of A.A Milne through Pen and Sword and Netgalley.

From the time they were first published in 1926 A.A Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories have been loved. To this day the stories are a favorite.

A.A Milne himself was a troubled man who spent much of his time trying to change negative perceptions of himself.

A.A Milne has left a legacy in nearly every part of the world, his Winnie the Pooh Characters are known and beloved.

A.A Milne’s Father John Milne wanted to provide the best education possible for his sons.

In 1929 Christopher Robin and Veronica dressed up as the Winnie the Pooh Characters and took part in a Children’s parade.

During Christmas of 1921 Christopher Robin received a gloomy toy donkey called Eyeore. He also received a stuffed pig named Piglet that year, a gift from his neighbor Chelsea.

For generations now Children have grown up listening to the tales of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Eyeore.

Alan did not sit back congratulating himself on the success of Winnie the Pooh instead he ploughed on, struggling to accept the fact that he did not receive the same success with adult litterature that he did with his Winnie the Pooh stories. He published several works of adult litterature but without the success of Winnie the Pooh.

Milne would die upset with the fact that no matter what he wrote he would be remembered as a Children’s storyteller. His Winnie the Pooh stories have been loved by Children for generations.

I give The Extraordinary Life Of A.A Milne five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!