The Men Who Created Winnie-the-Pooh: The Lives of A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard by James Campbell

​⭐Publisher Featured Review

To celebrate the hundred years anniversary of the publication of the first Winnie-the-Pooh in 2026, this wonderful dual biography has been published. Usually, biography isn't one of my favourite genres, but the creators of these delightful stories is rather exceptional.

These two men somehow managed to create a warm and idyllic world surrounding a group of friends who happened to be the toys of A.A. Milne's son, who all lived in the fictitious Hundred Acre Wood. I loved the stories when I was a child and still do, so this book enhances the tales even more so.  

It starts with the early lives of the two men, their schooling and family. Interesting to see that Milne had a rather special science and maths teacher who became another successful author. Milne and Shepherd met as they worked for the same publication and then collaborated for the Pooh books. Their lives were affected by the two World Wars but they came through it and their working partnership continued. 

The two men were not surrounded by scandal and lived rather uncontroversial lives - so apt for beautiful stories about childhood and friendship. It is the actual process of creation that makes this book fascinating. It shows how the Winnie-the-Pooh stories came to be and almost accidentally became published, the detail of the illustrations that brought the stories to life, the lengths the men went to to bring the innocent world together and the real forest that inspired the Hundred Acre Wood, Ashdown Forest in East Sussex.

This biography doesn't seek to diminish the lives or work of Milne and Shepherd, but it doesn't deny the few rumours and speculation surrounding aspects concerning their families. The images include some stunning illustrations, early ideas, original photographs, most in colour and some images unseen by the  public. A well written and balanced dual biography with a moving ending, the book is just as charming as Winnie-the-Pooh himself. A beautiful tribute.

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Published  by Michael O'Mara Limited, Lom Art on 11 September 2025 in hardback format.
Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

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