The true story of the man who created Winnie-the-Pooh—yet struggled to enjoy the overwhelming success that it brought him. Thanks to a phenomenally popular collection of whimsical children’s stories about a boy named Christopher Robin and his beloved teddy bear, A.A. Milne remains a household name in almost every corner of the globe. Generations have grown up loving the tales of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood. But though his work brought unparalleled joy to millions, Alan Alexander Milne himself was never able to enjoy the fame and fortune they brought him. He died deeply resenting Pooh’s success—as far as he was concerned those stories were just a tiny fraction of his literary work, but nothing else he produced came close in terms of public appreciation. Milne died still unable to reconcile the fact that no matter what else he wrote, regardless of all the plays and stories for adults he had published, he would always be remembered as a children’s storyteller. And his son, widely hailed as the inspiration for Christopher Robin, could never accept his unique place in literary history either. He had barely reached his teens before he grew to loathe his famous father, who he bitterly accused of exploiting his early years. This biography delves deep into the life of Milne—shedding light on new places, and telling stories untold.

Find out how stories about his son's stuffed bear, famously known as Winnie the Pooh, made A. A. Milne one of the world's best-known children's authors in this informative biography from the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Series, Who Was?. Born in England in 1882, Alan Alexander Milne grew up with a love for exploring the woods with his brother and writing poems about their adventures. Alan carried that love into his adult life by exploring the woods with his son, Christopher Robin. Well known for his articles, plays, and novels, Alan considered himself a "serious" author. But one story about a stuffed bear changed his image forever. Inspired by his son and their time playing in the woods, Alan wrote a story about Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, on a hunt for honey. The story was an instant success, and soon everyone wanted to hear more about the boy, his bear, and the magical Hundred Acre Wood. Today, children all around the world still read his stories in the classic books Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, Now We Are Six, and When We Were Very Young.

Contributions by Megan De Roover, Jennifer Harrison, Sarah Jackson, Zoe Jaques, Nada Kujundžić, Ivana Milković, Niall Nance-Carroll, Perry Nodelman, David Rudd, Jonathan Chun Ngai Tsang, Nicholas Tucker, Donna Varga, and Tim Wadham One hundred years ago, disparate events culminated in one of the most momentous happenings in the history of children’s literature. Christopher Robin Milne was born to A. A. and Dorothy “Daphne” Milne; Edward Bear, a lovable stuffed toy, arrived on the market; and a living, young bear named Winnie settled in at the London Zoo. The collaboration originally begun by the Milnes, E. H. and Florence Shepard, Winnie herself, and the many toys and personalities who fed into the Pooh legend continued to evolve throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries to become a global phenomenon. Yet even a brief examination of this sensation reveals that Pooh and his adventures were from the onset marked by a rich complexity behind a seeming simplicity and innocence. This volume, after a decades-long lull in concentrated Pooh scholarship, seeks to highlight the plurality of perspectives, modes, and interpretations these tales afford, especially after the Disney Corporation scooped its paws into the honeypot in the 1950s. Positioning Pooh: Edward Bear after One Hundred Years argues the doings of Pooh remain relevant for readers in a posthuman, information-centric, media-saturated, globalized age. Pooh's forays destabilize social certainties on all levels—linguistic, ontological, legal, narrative, political, and so on. Through essays that focus on geography, language, narrative, characterization, history, politics, economics, and a host of other social and cultural phenomena, contributors to this volume explore how the stories open up discourses about identity, ethics, social relations, and notions of belonging. This first volume to offer multiple perspectives from multiple authors on the Winnie-the-Pooh books in a single collection focuses on and develops approaches that bring this classic of children’s literature into the current era. Essays included not only are of relevance to scholars with an interest in Pooh, Milne, and the “golden age” of children’s literature, but also showcase the development of children’s literature scholarship in step with exciting modern developments in literary theory.

Imagine being one of the most well-loved children’s authors of all time, yet your readers don’t know if you’re a man or a woman. Or even your real name. E. Nesbit is really Edith Nesbit, who wrote an extraordinary 98 novels, plays and poetry collections for children and adults between 1885 and 1923. She is credited as the first modern writer for children whose work has influenced authors from Oscar Wilde to C.S. Lewis, Noël Coward to J.K. Rowling. Even though it was published more than 100 years ago, The Railway Children remains one of the most popular children’s books ever written and it has never been out of print. But for Edith, the truth of her life is stranger than her fiction – and it’s a truth she was keen to hide from the public. Edith’s father died when she was four, resulting in a peripatetic childhood across Europe. At 21 years old she was seven months’ pregnant when she married a penniless libertine who became a famous journalist, Hubert Bland. Together as early socialists they were founding members of the Fabian Society, from which the Labour Party has its foundations. A Bohemian and an eccentric, Edith became a mother of five children – two of whom she adopted in secret after her husband had an affair with a close friend (who subsequently lived with them as their housekeeper). It was shortly after the sudden death of her beloved son that Edith wrote her first bestseller in 1899, a groundbreaker that dramatically changed the course of children’s literature. On the eve of World War I, Edith’s husband died and she married a captain of the Woolwich Ferry. A cheerful cockney sparrow, Tommy Tucker proved to be Edith’s unwitting romantic hero who loved and cherished her until she died in near-poverty on the Romney Marshes of Kent.

A.A. Milne is one of the most successful English writers ever. His heart-warming creations—Winnie-the-Pooh, Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet—have become some of the best-loved children’s characters of all time, and readers the world over are familiar with the stories from the Hundred Acre Wood. Yet the man himself has remained an enigma. Although in many ways his behaviour was that of a typical golf-playing, pipe-smoking Englishman, Milne refused to be typecast, and his publishers despaired when he turned from writing popular columns for Punch to writing detective stories. They complained again when the detective writer presented them with a set of children’s verse, but when When We Were Very Young became one of the best-selling books of all time, Milne’s credibility as one of the world’s favorite authors was sealed. In this biography of Milne, Ann Thwaite reveals the man himself, in all his complexity. As W. A. Darlington put it in 1921, commenting on Milne’s highly popular plays, ‘Mr Milne is obviously at heart (like all humorists) a serious person, with things to say.’ He had strong political feelings, and was a pacifist even before his experiences on the Somme in 1916. There was always something darker and more tangled under ‘the bright glitter of surfaces’. At his father’s school, Milne was taught by the young H. G. Wells, who remained a lifelong friend; later, J. M. Barrie called him ‘my Mr Milne’ and was ‘uncommon proud of him’; later still, P. G. Wodehouse became one of his greatest admirers, and a friend – but was then deeply hurt by Milne’s strong reaction to the notorious wartime broadcasts. Milne’s personal relationships, including those with his wife and son, were not always easy. In A. A. Milne: His Life, Ann Thwaite has produced a vivid, sympathetic and entertaining portrait of both the man and his work, set in the context of his time, which stands as the definitive life of a writer whose work has earned some loathing (for its supposed ‘whimsy’) but much more devotion among readers of all ages, not only in English-speaking countries but all over the world.

Although his hilariously entertaining stories have touched the hearts of generations of children, there was much more to beloved author Roald Dahl than met the eye.His fascinating life began in Norway in 1916, and he became a highly rebellious teenager who delighted in defying authority before joining the RAF as a fighter pilot. But after his plane crashed in the African desert he was left with agonising injuries and unable to fly.He was dispatched to New York where, as a dashing young air attache, he enraptured societies greatest beauties and became friends with President Roosevelt. Roald soon found himself entangled with a highly complex network of British undercover operations. Eventually he grew tired of the secrecy of spying and retreated to the English countryside.He married twice and had five children, but his life was also affected by serious illness, tragedy and loss.He wrote a number of stories for adults, many of which were televised as the hugely popular _Tales of the Unexpected_, but it was as a children’s author that he found greatest fame and satisfaction, saying “I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers…Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful.”From 1945 until his death in 1990, he lived in Buckinghamshire, where he wrote his most celebrated children’s books including _Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and _Fantastic Mr Fox. _

"Once upon a time an anonymous teddy bear set off, from a factory in a north London suburb with a van-load of similar bears and other toys. His spectacular journey was to take him into the hearts of people of all ages, around the world and that is where we will join him first-in Acton where it all began." -Shirley Harrison, from the introduction The story truly does begin in Acton, England, at the Farnell toy factory where the hand-made mohair bear was born. This biography traces the steps of the actual stuffed bear from his creation to his final resting place in the Children's Center of the New York Public Library. Winnie-the-Pooh was brought to life as a loveable playmate flowing from the vivid imagination of Christopher Robin and introduced to the world by his father, A. A. Milne. Shirley Harrison uses original documents, photographs, and the diaries of the late Elliot Graham, caretaker to the bear for more than forty years, to give a glimpse into the hidden world of Winnie-the-Pooh and those whose lives he changed forever. Well-researched details flesh out the myths surrounding Winnie-the-Pooh's name, his journey to American, and his brief return to England. Filled with details of the real Christopher Robin, his mother, father, and the impact the stories had on their lives and illustrated with photographs of the people and places that brought the bear to life, this book chronicles the origins of one of the best-loved children's series in the world and focuses on the stuffed toy that started it all.

The famous creator of Winnie-the-Pooh was a gifted author, who contributed major works to almost every form of literary genre. From beloved children’s classics to murder mysteries; from theatrical masterpieces to satirical essays; from emotive war poetry to learned critical analysis and philosophical debate — A. A. Milne produced an extraordinary body of works, leaving no doubt as to the impressive scope of his literary achievements. This comprehensive eBook presents Milne’s collected works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 2) * The most complete edition possible in the US * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Milne’s life and works * Concise introductions to the major texts * 3 novels, with individual contents tables * The rare children’s book ‘A Gallery of Children’, fully illustrated * Features the short story collection ‘The Secret and Other Stories’, appearing for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Rare poetry available in no other collection * A wide selection of non-fiction * 21 plays, including ‘Toad of Toad Hall’, Milne’s adaptation of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres * UPDATED with ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’, including E. H. Shepherd’s illustrations, and the play ‘Portrait of a Gentleman in Slippers' (1926). Please note: due to US copyright restrictions, post-1926 works cannot appear in this edition. When new texts become available, they will be added to the eBook as a free update. CONTENTS: The Novels Once on a Time (1917) Mr. Pim (1921) The Red House Mystery (1922) The Children’s Books When We Were Very Young (1924) A Gallery of Children (1925) Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) The Short Story Collections Lovers in London (1905) The Secret and Other Stories (1929) The Plays Wurzel-Flummery (1917) Belinda (1918) The Boy Comes Home (1918) Make-Believe (1918) The Camberley Triangle (1919) Mr. Pim Passes By (1919) The Red Feathers (1920) The Romantic Age (1920) The Stepmother (1920) The Truth about Blayds (1920) The Great Broxopp (1921) The Dover Road (1921) The Lucky One (1922) Success (1923) Ariadne (1924) The Man in the Bowler Hat (1924) To Have the Honour (1924) Portrait of a Gentleman in Slippers (1926) The Ivory Door (1929) Toad of Toad Hall (1929) The Ugly Duckling (1941) The Poetry Collections For the Luncheon Interval (1925) The Norman Church (1948) The Non-Fiction The Day’s Play (1910) Introduction to ‘The Chronicles of Clovis’ by Saki (1911) The Holiday Round (1912) Once a Week (1914) Not That It Matters (1919) If I May (1920) The Sunny Side (1921) Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

The famous creator of Winnie-the-Pooh was a gifted author, who contributed major works to almost every form of literary genre. From beloved children’s classics to murder mysteries; from theatrical masterpieces to satirical essays; from emotive war poetry to learned critical analysis and philosophical debate — A. A. Milne produced an extraordinary body of works, leaving no doubt as to the impressive scope of his literary achievements. For the first time in publishing history, this eBook presents Milne’s complete fictional works, with numerous illustrations, many rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Milne’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * All the novels, with individual contents tables * The complete Winnie-the-Pooh books * The rare children’s book ‘A Gallery of Children’, fully illustrated * Features the short story collection ‘The Secret and Other Stories’, appearing for the first time in digital publishing * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Rare poetry collections available in no other collection * Includes Milne’s complete non-fiction, including his seminal works ‘Peace with Honour’ and ‘War with Honour’ — digitised here for the first time * 21 plays, including ‘Toad of Toad Hall’, Milne’s adaptation of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ * Features Milne’s autobiography – discover his literary life * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please note: E. H. Shepard’s Winnie-the-Pooh illustrations remain in copyright and so sadly cannot appear in the eBook (release date 2027). CONTENTS: The Novels Once on a Time (1917) Mr. Pim (1921) The Red House Mystery (1922) Two People (1931) Chloe Marr (1946) The Children’s Books When We Were Very Young (1924) A Gallery of Children (1925) Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) Now We Are Six (1927) The House at Pooh Corner (1928) The Short Story Collections Lovers in London (1905) The Secret and Other Stories (1929) The Birthday Party (1948) A Table near the Band (1950) The Plays Wurzel-Flummery (1917) Belinda (1918) The Boy Comes Home (1918) Make-Believe (1918) The Camberley Triangle (1919) Mr. Pim Passes By (1919) The Red Feathers (1920) The Romantic Age (1920) The Stepmother (1920) The Truth about Blayds (1920) The Great Broxopp (1921) The Dover Road (1921) The Lucky One (1922) Success (1923) Ariadne (1924) The Man in the Bowler Hat (1924) To Have the Honour (1924) Portrait of a Gentleman in Slippers (1926) The Ivory Door (1929) Toad of Toad Hall (1929) The Ugly Duckling (1941) The Poetry Collections For the Luncheon Interval (1925) Behind the Lines (1940) The Norman Church (1948) The Non-Fiction The Day’s Play (1910) Introduction to ‘The Chronicles of Clovis’ by Saki (1911) The Holiday Round (1912) Once a Week (1914) Not That It Matters (1919) If I May (1920) The Sunny Side (1921) By Way of Introduction (1929) Peace with Honour (1934) War with Honour (1940) Year In, Year Out (1952) The Autobiography It’s Too Late Now (1939) Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to purchase this eBook as a Parts Edition of individual eBooks

Book 1: Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther [ASIN: B09NZZKL6K] Step into the heartwarming world of Jan Struther's "Mrs. Miniver." Follow the delightful journey of an ordinary English family through the lens of Mrs. Miniver, capturing the essence of daily life and resilience during challenging times. Book 2: Not that It Matters by A. A. Milne [ASIN: B0CNLNJB87] Explore the wit and charm of A. A. Milne's "Not that It Matters." This collection of essays reflects on life's peculiarities and delights, inviting readers to find joy in the ordinary and appreciate the humor woven into everyday experiences. Book 3: On Growth and Form by D'arcy Wentworth Thompson [ASIN: B0CG6KB778] Embark on a scientific exploration with D'arcy Wentworth Thompson's "On Growth and Form." This influential work delves into the patterns and structures found in the natural world, offering profound insights into the interconnectedness of life and the beauty of biological forms.