Arguably, the most famous bear in literary history, more popular than Paddington even, Winnie-the-Pooh’s journey into literary stardom began with a bedtime story. AA Milne, its creator, had written screenplays and articles for Punch before. In the aftermath of World War I, troubled by the horrors he’d witnessed during his service in the British Army, he would take to telling his young son, Christopher Robin, stories of companionship and compassion involving an eponymous little boy and his friend, an anthropomorphic bear, Winnie. Illustrated by EH Shepard and published by Frederick Muller, these stories would go on to become classics — but it would come at a cost. The real Christopher Robin could never cope with the fame of his literary namesake. His relations with his parents would forever be strained.
Correspondences between Milne, Shepard and Muller, unseen since 1926, has now been unearthed. It deals with their creative labours and not their private woes. These include first drafts, poems, dedications and a birthday book of sketches, among other things. In one letter, Milne argues with Shepard over his delayed submissions. In another, he remonstrates on behalf of Pooh to a crossword reference to him as a “fabulous monster”.
