“A writer must be allowed his own way in these matters. We start with a fact or two, the impression of a face, and in a little while we do not know how much is reality and how much is our day-dream.”
“The Complete Short Stories of A. A. Milne”
I’m delighted to join the Blog Tour for “The Complete Short Stories of A. A. Milne”. Many thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours, the publishers Farrago for organising the tour and gifting me a copy of the book.
The stories:
In a new collection, introduced by Gyles Brandreth, the complete short stories of the beloved author A. A. Milne are brought together in full for the first time. While most famous for his children’s books, Milne was a prolific writer for adults, including short stories, essays and plays. This collection is the perfect showcase for the breadth and quality his great body of work, bringing it to a whole new audience.
My thoughts:
I first became familiar with A. A. Milne’s writing, outside of the famous bear, via his golden age crime novel, “The Red House Mystery”, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So I was delighted to hear about this publication of his collected short stories.
The stories are arranged chronologically, starting in 1914, and are delightful, often humorous, and with a lightness of touch that makes them a joy to read. The chronological arrangement works well to show the influences on Milne (and everyone else) at the time — from early stories feeling the effects of World War I, to later stories evoking the inter-war period.
The stories themselves are a mixture of genres, including mystery, romance and even historical fiction (what would it be like to be Hannibal’s assistant during the Second Punic War?!). Book reviewers in particular might chuckle at poor Morton Vaile in one of the stories, “The End of the Peer of Wotherspoon”; the tale a serious and purposefully niche literary critic who makes the fatal error of praising a novel that goes on to be a popular bestseller…
As a lover of early-to-mid-20th century crime and literary fiction, I found something to enjoy in all of the stories, with some particular favourites including “Rosemary for Remembrance”, “In Vino Veritas” and “The Birthday Party”. Overall, I would highly recommend this collection and would encourage anyone who only knows Milne for his works for children to dip into his adult fiction. You won’t be disappointed!
Pages: 448
Published: 29th February 2024
Rating: 🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈/5
The blurb:
A new collection of A. A. Milne’s short stories and sketches for grown-ups. Collected in full for the first time, they are an epiphany, and show Milne’s renowned charm, concision and whimsical flair in all their brilliance.
He paints memorable scenes, from a children’s birthday party, to an accidental encounter with murder, and a case of blackmail – often with an unexpected twist. But he also deals in poignancy, from the girl who pulls the wool over her boyfriend’s eyes, to a first dance and first disappointment or family reunion and domestic dissonance.
Beguiling and evocative, Milne’s thought-provoking stories will make you see his works for children in a whole new light.
About the author
A. A. Milne (Alan Alexander) is best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh. Prior to the First World War he worked as a young man as Assistant Editor of Punch magazine. After leaving the army, he began to write plays, short stories and novels; and then later works for children, including the poetry collection “When We Were Very Young” and the storybook “Winnie-the-Pooh” in 1926. Milne continued to be a prolific writer until his death in 1956.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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