Christopher Robin & Associates

It is chastening to realize that sometimes the best intentioned actions are not perceived kindly by the recipient. The subtleties of communication are often lost between sender and receiver, resulting in unnecessary conflict. Such appears to have been the case with Alan Alexander Milne and his son Christopher Robin.

A. A. Milne was the son of two teachers, so it can be appreciated that education and an ability to write would have been encouraged in that family. Milne went to Westminster School where one of his teachers was H. G. Wells who became an early writer of Science Fiction. Milne admired Wells who naturally supported the development of his talent.

Milne and his wife Daphne had only one son, Christopher Robin. He was loved by both parents who, for reasons known only to them, called him Billy, or Billy Moon. At bedtime, Milne regularly told little made-up tales to Christopher. Favourite toys, a bear called Edward, a tiger and other stuffed toys were often the main characters in the stories. Owl and Rabbit were not original members but were added when the book was written.

"Billy" had an adventure in the London Zoological Gardens when he was allowed to feed a tame bear in his cage with milk from a bottle. The bear was named Winnie (shortened from Winnipeg). Of course he became a focal character in subsequent stories. Milne's first publication was "Vespers" in 1923 ("Christopher Robin is saying his prayers"). In 1924 he wrote a collection of poems which included one about a tubby bear. In 1926 came " Now We Are Six", and in 1928 the famous " House At Pooh Corner". Christopher was a very shy boy and did not enjoy the attention that his father's books brought to him. "Vespers" was put to music and became a very popular and frequently played tune, which must have added to Christopher's concerns.

Unfortunately, Christopher wouldn't have any of them read to him by his father, and he didn't read any of them himself until he was sixty years of age. The writings, revered by so many, blighted his life and caused estrangements with his father. Instead of the intimate poems and stories, Milne read tales by P.G.Wodehouse to the boy as he became older.

So there we are. It so sad that such delightful creations, written with the best of intentions, I am sure, would be the cause of a resentful, spoiled relationship. I suppose that Milne's consolation would have been that thousands of other children would have enjoyed his works through many years. We hope that Christopher was able to have an otherwise fulfilling life.