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Found after 70 years: 4 short stories by Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne

2024-03-11 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-世界原网页

Oh, bother.

A literary agent has unearthed four short stories from the estate of Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne, nearly 70 years after the celebrated author’s death in 1956.

The handwritten stories are as far from the Hundred Acre Woods as Pooh is from a real bear, though they are still infused with the same whimsicality Milne’s children’s books are known for.

One tells the story of a contest to find the most happily married couple, and another recounts a conversation between two men, one of whom keeps asking: What’s happened?

There is an unfinished crime story written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, and the fourth one is about the discovery of a humorous poem detailing a mock exchange between celebrated poet William Wordsworth and a character named Herrick.

These stories are now part of The Complete Short Stories Of A.A. Milne, a new collection published on Feb 29 meant for grown-ups.

Ms Becky Brown, a literary agent for the Milne estate, found the four short stories at the Harry Ransom Centre at the University of Texas, where Milne’s papers are held.

“Finding these stories and fragments, penned in Milne’s unmistakable hand, complete with crossings-out, late additions and marginalia, was a dream come true,” Ms Brown told the Daily Mail.

“Milne was a master craftsman, and his trademark charm and brevity are in full force in these lost pieces.”

Milne already had a thriving career as a playwright and a poet when he created characters destined to become nursery legends – Christopher Robbins, his teddy bear Winnie the Pooh, and his gang of animal friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, such as Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore.

The first book, Winnie-the-Pooh, was published in 1926, followed by The House At Pooh Corner in 1928.

The books were immediate bestsellers. The charm, whimsy and gentle humour of the stories, coupled with captivating illustrations by E.H. Shepard, captured the hearts of both children and adults around the world.

The books later led to a huge franchise that encompassed animated films, TV shows, merchandise and theme park attractions, primarily through The Walt Disney Company, which acquired the rights to the Pooh characters in the 1960s.

“Archives like Milne’s… are filled with drafts and ideas for projects that sometimes have never been published… We’re always excited when these works can find their audience – sometimes generations after they were originally written,” said Mr Eric Colleary, the Harry Ransom Centre’s performing arts curator.

Mr Pete Duncan of Duckworth Books, which publishes Milne’s fiction for adults, said: “The newly discovered stories are quite remarkable, and reveal Milne’s extraordinary creative depth.

“After reading them you can’t help seeing his works for children in a whole new light.”