Jan 16, 2025 08:46 IST First published on: Jan 16, 2025 at 08:46 IST
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”.
What is it about letters that speaks to one so powerfully? Perhaps, it is the fact that they offer a glimmer of insight into the intellectual and emotional lives of people largely known only through their work. In his lifetime, for instance, American writer Ernest Hemingway came to acquire a rugged persona. It was only through his letters published 50 years after his death that one gets glimpses of a gentler individual, a family man with a quirky sense of humour. In 1926, Milne had written, “I suppose that every one of us hopes secretly for immortality.” Ashdown Forest and its magical inmates would bring his wish to life but at a great personal cost. That is a story he could not have imagined.
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