Winnie the Pooh Wednesday: Other Works by A. A. Milne

Reading Maureen's post on "Forgotten Books by Famous Authors" got me thinking about how much A. A. Milne's legacy as a writer has been dominated by his authorship of the Pooh books and his two volumes of children's poetry. As much as I adore Milne's stories of the Hundred Acre Wood, it makes me a little sad to think that so much of his equally wonderful work in other genres has become obscure. I myself didn't know that Milne had written for adults until years after I had discovered the Pooh books, but I've since tracked down a few copies of his less-famous works and have enjoyed them immensely. Today, I thought I'd share some of these books with the readers of Winnie the Pooh Wednesday, in the hopes that other Pooh fans might come to appreciate Milne's other work as much as I have.

The Sunny Side

I've reviewed this book in-depth before for Sparrow Tree Square magazine, but it's so good that I felt it was worth mentioning again here. The Sunny Side is a collection of short stories and poems Milne wrote for the humor magazine Punch. Divided into topics such as "Men of Letters" and "Summer Days," the stories and poems in this collection display the full force of Milne's brilliant wit. I particularly like "Oranges and Lemons," a multi-part story at the beginning of the book which features a set of characters that appear in a couple of other stories Milne wrote. The Sunny Side is in the public domain and available in its entirety on Project Gutenberg, but is also available for purchase in an illustrated hardcover edition.

The Holiday Round

The Holiday Round has much in common with The Sunny Side, as both are collections of shorter works with a humorous theme. The first two stories in this collection feature Milne's recurring characters from "Oranges and Lemons," and have an almost Wodehousian tone. The rest of the works in the collection are something of a miscellany, including groups of stories on themes such as "Successful Lives" as well as single stories that don't fit into a particular theme. All are quite humorous, and will appeal to those who enjoy Milne's work in The Sunny Side. Since the organization of this book is a bit confusing, however, I recommend delving into The Sunny Side first before picking up The Holiday Round. The text is available in its entirety on Project Gutenberg, and can also be purchased in fairly expensive paperback or hardcover editions from Amazon. 

The Red House Mystery

This last recommendation is the biggest departure from the style of the Pooh books and the style of Milne's humorous short stories. The Red House Mystery is the first and only detective novel that A. A. Milne ever wrote, but it's a surprisingly good one. The plot is a classic "locked room" murder that takes place in an English country house, and the story progresses much like other mystery novels from the Golden Age of detective fiction. The book was an instant success with both the public and critics, and on the strength of it  Milne became a charter member of a society for mystery writers that included such greats as Chesterton, Christie, and Sayers. While mystery fans still devour books by the latter three authors today, Milne's sole foray into the genre has largely been forgotten. As both a fan of Milne and a fan of mysteries, I greatly enjoyed The Red House Mystery. It's available for free on Project Gutenberg, or in inexpensive paperback editions from Amazon.