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Somewhere, a Boy and a Bear
‘Whatever subject an author chooses or has chosen for him, he reveals no secret but the secret of himself’ A A Milne
When Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in print on Christmas Eve 1925, his creator had no idea that this bear, and the fellow inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood, would go on to capture the imaginations of people of all ages all over the world for the next hundred years.
In this new biography Gyles Brandreth tells the remarkable story of A A Milne – and of the ‘bear of very little brain’ who went on to become a global phenomenon.
Drawing on his friendship with Milne’s son, the real Christopher Robin, Gyles Brandreth has produced a revealing and intimate portrait of a prolific author whose legacy came to be defined by his most famous creation, and of the divided Milne family who for many years had a conflicted relationship with the iconic bear.
This is the story of a man, a boy and a bear – but it is also a gripping family drama, and a fascinating exploration of the complicated nature of growing up, and the impossible longing for a return to the enchanted places of childhood.
‘Gyles Brandreth has a touching access to the secrets of the human heart’ The Times
When Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in print on Christmas Eve 1925, his creator had no idea that this bear, and the fellow inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood, would go on to capture the imaginations of people of all ages all over the world for the next hundred years.
In this new biography Gyles Brandreth tells the remarkable story of A A Milne – and of the ‘bear of very little brain’ who went on to become a global phenomenon.
Drawing on his friendship with Milne’s son, the real Christopher Robin, Gyles Brandreth has produced a revealing and intimate portrait of a prolific author whose legacy came to be defined by his most famous creation, and of the divided Milne family who for many years had a conflicted relationship with the iconic bear.
This is the story of a man, a boy and a bear – but it is also a gripping family drama, and a fascinating exploration of the complicated nature of growing up, and the impossible longing for a return to the enchanted places of childhood.
‘Gyles Brandreth has a touching access to the secrets of the human heart’ The Times
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About the author
Gyles Brandreth
466 books405 followersFull name: Gyles Daubeney Brandreth.
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News for You), an acclaimed interviewer (principally for the Sunday Telegraph), a novelist, children’s author and biographer, his best-selling diary, Breaking the Code, was described as ‘By far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clark’s’ (The Times) and ‘Searingly honest, wildly indiscreet, and incredibly funny’ (Daily Mail). He is the author of two acclaimed royal biographies: Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage and Charles Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. In 2007/2008, John Murray in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US began publishing The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries, his series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as the detective.
As a performer, Gyles Brandreth has been seen most recently in ZIPP! ONE HUNDRED MUSICALS FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF ONE at the Duchess Theatre and on tour throughout the UK, and as Malvolio and the Sea Captain in TWELFTH NIGHT THE MUSICAL at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Gyles Brandreth is one of Britain’s busiest after-dinner speakers and award ceremony hosts. He has won awards himself, and been nominated for awards, as a public speaker, novelist, children’s writer, broadcaster (Sony), political diarist (Channel Four), journalist (British Press Awards), theatre producer (Olivier), and businessman (British Tourist Authority Come to Britain Trophy).
He is married to writer and publisher Michèle Brown, with whom he co-curated the exhibition of twentieth century children’s authors at the National Portrait Gallery and founded the award-winning Teddy Bear Museum now based at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. He is a trustee of the British Forces Foundation, and a former chairman and now vice-president of the National Playing Fields Association.
Gyles Brandreth’s forebears include George R. Sims (the highest-paid journalist of his day, who wrote the ballad Christmas Day in the Workhouse) and Jeremiah Brandreth (the last man in England to be beheaded for treason). His great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Brandreth, promoted ‘Brandreth’s Pills’ (a medicine that cured everything!) and was a pioneer of modern advertising and a New York state senator. Today, Gyles Brandreth has family living in New York, Maryland, South Carolina and California. He has been London correspondent for “Up to the Minute” on CBS News and his books published in the United States include the New York Times best-seller, The Joy of Lex and, most recently, Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage.
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News for You), an acclaimed interviewer (principally for the Sunday Telegraph), a novelist, children’s author and biographer, his best-selling diary, Breaking the Code, was described as ‘By far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clark’s’ (The Times) and ‘Searingly honest, wildly indiscreet, and incredibly funny’ (Daily Mail). He is the author of two acclaimed royal biographies: Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage and Charles Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. In 2007/2008, John Murray in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US began publishing The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries, his series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as the detective.
As a performer, Gyles Brandreth has been seen most recently in ZIPP! ONE HUNDRED MUSICALS FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF ONE at the Duchess Theatre and on tour throughout the UK, and as Malvolio and the Sea Captain in TWELFTH NIGHT THE MUSICAL at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Gyles Brandreth is one of Britain’s busiest after-dinner speakers and award ceremony hosts. He has won awards himself, and been nominated for awards, as a public speaker, novelist, children’s writer, broadcaster (Sony), political diarist (Channel Four), journalist (British Press Awards), theatre producer (Olivier), and businessman (British Tourist Authority Come to Britain Trophy).
He is married to writer and publisher Michèle Brown, with whom he co-curated the exhibition of twentieth century children’s authors at the National Portrait Gallery and founded the award-winning Teddy Bear Museum now based at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. He is a trustee of the British Forces Foundation, and a former chairman and now vice-president of the National Playing Fields Association.
Gyles Brandreth’s forebears include George R. Sims (the highest-paid journalist of his day, who wrote the ballad Christmas Day in the Workhouse) and Jeremiah Brandreth (the last man in England to be beheaded for treason). His great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Brandreth, promoted ‘Brandreth’s Pills’ (a medicine that cured everything!) and was a pioneer of modern advertising and a New York state senator. Today, Gyles Brandreth has family living in New York, Maryland, South Carolina and California. He has been London correspondent for “Up to the Minute” on CBS News and his books published in the United States include the New York Times best-seller, The Joy of Lex and, most recently, Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 15, 2025
3.5 rounded up! An interesting read but at times quite wandering, but overall I enjoyed this biography.
November 12, 2025
A bit meandering but a lovely story that makes me want to read Pooh again and make sure my children have a wonderful childhood.
February 2, 2026
A gentle book that treats its subject, the author A A Milne, with great respect and affection, and the enthusiasm for his wider works sets the reader a follow up book challenge. There are times Brandreth unironically wonders at the coincidence of how many of Milne's posh schoolfriends, posh university peers and posh work colleagues all ended up famous, but Milne is shown to deserve more than the renown as a children's author he is accorded. A compelling read.
December 29, 2025
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review to follow (eventually)
Review to follow (eventually)
January 8, 2026
Felt it slightly dragged at some parts but still an absolutely brilliant book for any Winnie the Pooh lover!
October 30, 2025
A great biography about AAMilne ..didn't realise he had writing gift for many genres and a sad life ..amazing read if a Winnie the Pooh fan! and Christopher Robin of course
January 6, 2026
Instagram - @comewalkinmybooks
📚 book review 📚
Somewhere , a Boy and a Bear by Gyles Brandreth
Goodreads rating - 4.06/5 ⭐️
My personal rating - 4.25/5 ⭐️
This is my 1st book by Gyles Brandreth.
My parents bought me this book for Christmas and I just had to make it my first book of the year.
In this book we follow the lives of the Milne family pre and post the iconic stories of Winnie the Pooh and friends 🧸
This book was so interesting to me. I grew up reading the Winnie the Pooh books and so to read the background of how they came to be was amazing. We never get to see the behind the scenes of some of the most iconic books ever written. We don’t get the why or the thought process and with A.A.Milne we do.
We go through childhoods, 2 world wars, relationships, friendships, careers and everything in between.
This author also had a special relationship with the real Christopher robin and so we also hear from him. Since he passed in 1996 it’s great to have these thoughts and memories from him in the same space as his father’s thoughts. They both had their own autobiographies but having them put together like this makes the story of their lives and relationships easier to follow in my opinion.
The author also takes us on his journey of discovering more about the Milne family in the present day and even visiting the original bears that was the inspiration for Winnie. I say ‘bears’ because there was more than one which until reading this I had no idea about.
Would I recommend this book - Yes
If you are a fan of the Winnie the Pooh books then this is for you if you wish to see where the world’s favourite bear originated from.
Would i read this author again - Yes
I would. It’s amazing the level of detail he goes into with the stories and the dates given. I will for sure be reading more from him in the future !
This is my personal opinion !
📚 book review 📚
Somewhere , a Boy and a Bear by Gyles Brandreth
Goodreads rating - 4.06/5 ⭐️
My personal rating - 4.25/5 ⭐️
This is my 1st book by Gyles Brandreth.
My parents bought me this book for Christmas and I just had to make it my first book of the year.
In this book we follow the lives of the Milne family pre and post the iconic stories of Winnie the Pooh and friends 🧸
This book was so interesting to me. I grew up reading the Winnie the Pooh books and so to read the background of how they came to be was amazing. We never get to see the behind the scenes of some of the most iconic books ever written. We don’t get the why or the thought process and with A.A.Milne we do.
We go through childhoods, 2 world wars, relationships, friendships, careers and everything in between.
This author also had a special relationship with the real Christopher robin and so we also hear from him. Since he passed in 1996 it’s great to have these thoughts and memories from him in the same space as his father’s thoughts. They both had their own autobiographies but having them put together like this makes the story of their lives and relationships easier to follow in my opinion.
The author also takes us on his journey of discovering more about the Milne family in the present day and even visiting the original bears that was the inspiration for Winnie. I say ‘bears’ because there was more than one which until reading this I had no idea about.
Would I recommend this book - Yes
If you are a fan of the Winnie the Pooh books then this is for you if you wish to see where the world’s favourite bear originated from.
Would i read this author again - Yes
I would. It’s amazing the level of detail he goes into with the stories and the dates given. I will for sure be reading more from him in the future !
This is my personal opinion !
October 13, 2025
Just finished Gyles Brandreth’s biography about A A Milne ‘Somewhere, A oh & A Beaf. What a fascinating read- I never knew A A Milne only wrote 4 children’s books, nor that a was also a playwright - even though I have seen one of his plays - The Wi d in the Wilows - many years ago at Sadlers Wells. The whole book is interwoven with quotes from the Pooh Books to the main narrative. I am also going to start a campaign to get the original Pooh Bear & friends, back home from the NYC Public Library 😂😂. Here’s the blurb…
When Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in print on Christmas Eve 1925, his creator had no idea that this bear, and the fellow inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood, would go on to capture the imaginations of people of all ages all over the world for the next hundred years.
In this new biography Gyles Brandreth tells the remarkable story of A A Milne – and of the ‘bear of very little brain’ who went on to become a global phenomenon.
Drawing on his friendship with Milne’s son, the real Christopher Robin, Gyles Brandreth has produced a revealing and intimate portrait of a prolific author whose legacy came to be defined by his most famous creation, and of the divided Milne family who for many years had a conflicted relationship with the iconic bear.
This is the story of a man, a boy and a bear – but it is also a gripping family drama, and a fascinating exploration of the complicated nature of growing up, and the impossible longing for a return to the enchanted places of childhood.
When Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in print on Christmas Eve 1925, his creator had no idea that this bear, and the fellow inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood, would go on to capture the imaginations of people of all ages all over the world for the next hundred years.
In this new biography Gyles Brandreth tells the remarkable story of A A Milne – and of the ‘bear of very little brain’ who went on to become a global phenomenon.
Drawing on his friendship with Milne’s son, the real Christopher Robin, Gyles Brandreth has produced a revealing and intimate portrait of a prolific author whose legacy came to be defined by his most famous creation, and of the divided Milne family who for many years had a conflicted relationship with the iconic bear.
This is the story of a man, a boy and a bear – but it is also a gripping family drama, and a fascinating exploration of the complicated nature of growing up, and the impossible longing for a return to the enchanted places of childhood.
January 9, 2026
Affable, charming, probably intentionally echoing his subject's writing style, Brandreth focuses mostly on the early life of A.A. Milne and the choices that led him to becoming a popular playwright and -- with the publication of When We Were Very Young -- the bestselling poet in the world.
Pooh and Christopher Robin (both the real one and the fictional one) are omnipresent, though Milne's most famous books don't get written until very late in the book. Inevitably, this means that the last thirty years or so of Milne's life get glossed over. However, it also gives Brandreth the room to create a detailed portrait of Milne and London's literary community during the Edwardian era, which is fascinating. It's clear that everyone knew everyone, if not always all that well.
Milne is equally fascinating, not least for his stubborn insistence on going his own way. He would write what he wanted to -- even if his publishers told him not to -- score a major success in a genre, and then just walk away from it to do whatever interested him next. As a somewhat creative person currently facing some choices about whether to get paid well to do what others want or take the risk of following my own interests, I find this to be food for thought.
Pooh and Christopher Robin (both the real one and the fictional one) are omnipresent, though Milne's most famous books don't get written until very late in the book. Inevitably, this means that the last thirty years or so of Milne's life get glossed over. However, it also gives Brandreth the room to create a detailed portrait of Milne and London's literary community during the Edwardian era, which is fascinating. It's clear that everyone knew everyone, if not always all that well.
Milne is equally fascinating, not least for his stubborn insistence on going his own way. He would write what he wanted to -- even if his publishers told him not to -- score a major success in a genre, and then just walk away from it to do whatever interested him next. As a somewhat creative person currently facing some choices about whether to get paid well to do what others want or take the risk of following my own interests, I find this to be food for thought.
November 16, 2025
3.5
This book takes a deep dive into A.A. Milne's life -his childhood, his writing career, his marriage and of course his son Christopher Robin and the characters of Winnie the Pooh. Most of it was interesting, although sad at times, except for his writing career. I was mostly interested in Winnie the Pooh, but he was also a playwright. There were so many tidbits of information that I was surprised by:
*Kanga - inspired by his own mother
*The original Winnie the Pooh is in the United States and they aren't willing to give it back to England
*The broken relationships in his life, yet had the sweet tender poetry and writing that created Winnie the Pooh
*Austin TX celebrates Eyeore Day every year in April
*The University of Texas has a vast amount on the book and the author - what a surprise!
For the fans of Winnie of the Pooh and those interested in A.A. Milne, you will find this book interesting.
My thanks to Net Galley, Penguin and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this audio book.
This book takes a deep dive into A.A. Milne's life -his childhood, his writing career, his marriage and of course his son Christopher Robin and the characters of Winnie the Pooh. Most of it was interesting, although sad at times, except for his writing career. I was mostly interested in Winnie the Pooh, but he was also a playwright. There were so many tidbits of information that I was surprised by:
*Kanga - inspired by his own mother
*The original Winnie the Pooh is in the United States and they aren't willing to give it back to England
*The broken relationships in his life, yet had the sweet tender poetry and writing that created Winnie the Pooh
*Austin TX celebrates Eyeore Day every year in April
*The University of Texas has a vast amount on the book and the author - what a surprise!
For the fans of Winnie of the Pooh and those interested in A.A. Milne, you will find this book interesting.
My thanks to Net Galley, Penguin and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this audio book.
November 20, 2025
This is the rather sad, and at times meandering, biography of A. A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame. Starting with the stories of his parents and going through the life of his famous son, Christopher Robin Milne, this book goes into great detail of who they were and the events of their lives that shaped them. For someone who only knows Milne as the author of Winnie the Pooh and one mystery novel, I was intrigued to learn of what a prolific writer he was, delving into different genres and styles. It is well written but it is repetitive in places.
Overall this was an interesting read and I would recommend it to lovers of biographies.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Overall this was an interesting read and I would recommend it to lovers of biographies.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
November 5, 2025
Really took quite the journey on A.A. Milne. It was interesting finding out the life story and I loved it was written by someone that had connected with the family. Personally, I always find it sad when reading about someone that created something I have loved to find out that they in the end didn't care to be as known and defined by creation. Still was an informative read about the man who gave us Winnie the Pooh and friends.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
October 28, 2025
I thought this was a lovely biography that really made me think more about A.A. Milne and Winnie the Pooh in the original way the books were written and not the Disney adaptation (which I still like) and it’s nice to see what was behind all of that original work. I especially enjoyed the audiobook and reader
December 31, 2025
This is a biography that explores the complexities of British author, A.A. Milne, his family relationships, his fame and fortune as well as life beyond the Pooh Bear and the One Hundred Acre Wood.
Milne and Winnie-the-Pooh had something very special in common, living gratefully.
Well written but for some reason I had a hard time focusing on the story.
Milne and Winnie-the-Pooh had something very special in common, living gratefully.
Well written but for some reason I had a hard time focusing on the story.
February 8, 2026
I don't think a single fact was missed in this book, which sometimes makes it a little overwhelming. But without a stone unturned it brings Pooh Bear into the real world.
I think it highlights how complex human relationships can be and how very much a bear with very little brains is needed in the world.
I think it highlights how complex human relationships can be and how very much a bear with very little brains is needed in the world.
January 5, 2026
This was a good biography, and it was clear that the author was passionate about the subject and really put a lot of care and attention into telling the Milne’s story accurately. However, it was a little meandering in places with a few tangents that could’ve been removed easily.
January 6, 2026
3.5 - whilst the book is an interesting read for any fans of Winnie The Pooh, it is incredibly meandering at times & this could easily have been cut down to bring more clarity/conciseness to the story
February 2, 2026
I really enjoyed this book, very informative and full of heart, just got quite boring in areas and difficult to stick with.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews