The first ever joint biography of A A Milne and E H Shepard

It’s finally publication day for The Men who created Winnie-the-Pooh!

For the last four years I have been working on the first ever joint biography of A A Milne and E H Shepard. Today is very exciting as I finally get to see it in bookshops across the country, and in all the usual places online.

I have made some exciting discoveries – poring over Milne’s original handwritten manuscripts I found that ‘Poohsticks’ was not the original name for that wonderful pastime; that Eeyore was originally spelled differently; and that E H Shepard was not the first illustrator to draw the illustrious bear.

I have found new information in the vaults of the E H Shepard Archive in the University of Surrey; found fascinating radio recordings in the British Library; brought together photographs, journal entries, letters, cartoons, drawings and personal reminiscences to create a story about two men, on the face of it both conventional middle-class professionals from comfortable backgrounds, but underneath with very different attitudes, experiences and approaches to life. I have walked the London streets frequented by both men, explored the Ashdown Forest and the Thames Valley, and breathed in the atmosphere of the period in which they lived and worked.

It has had its highs and lows – the disappointment that the Blitz in wartime London destroyed all the documents before 1940; that Milne, due to his estrangement with his only child, did not pass on or keep critical information – such as why he allowed the Winnie-the-Pooh toy animals to be sent to the USA – and never asked for them back; and why Shepard was seemingly sold down the river over the Disney versions of his work; and the personal sadness of the loss of his wife and his only son so early in his life. But excitement over unread or ignored papers and documents, so many wonderful reminiscences from people who had known one or both men, and the joy of the rediscovery of the magic that there still is in Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willows.

The book has been a labour of love, of excitement, anticipation and discovery, as well as sometimes frustration, and at times irritation, but it has been such a rewarding project to have been working on.

So, it’s publication day, and already the book has been featured by The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph amongst many others, and Best of British Magazine has named it their Book of the Month.

The book explores the relationship and the dynamic between these two men, on the face of it so similar, but in practice so different, and how they came together to create what was to become the most famous bear in the world, a multinational brand, a Disney sensation and a hundred-year old phenomenon across the world. We learn how they approached their respective tasks, both separately and together, and how they reacted in their different ways to the totally unexpected runaway success the books became, and the impact on their personal and professional lives.

Published in the UK by Michael O’Mara Books and in the USA by Rizzoli, the book is available now online and from your local bookstore.