Autobiography

by A.A. Milne

In It's Too Late Now: The Autobiography of a Writer, A. A Milne, with his characteristic self-deprecating humour, recalls a blissfully happy childhood in the company of his brothers and writes with touching affection about his father whom he adored. From Westminster School he won a scholarship to Cambridge University where he edited the university magazine, Granta. He then went out into the world, determined to be a writer. He was assistant editor at Punch Magazine and enjoyed great success with his novels, plays and stories. And of course he is best remembered for his children's novels and verses featuring Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin. This is both an account of how a writer was formed and a charming period piece on literary life - Milne met countless famous authors including H. G. Wells, J.M Barrie of Peter Pan fame and Rudyard Kipling.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Book Club, British Literature

315 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

Alan Alexander Milne (pronounced /ˈmɪln/) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems.

A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.

Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.

After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."

He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".

He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.

Reviews

[Rebekah Giese Witherspoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore Winnie-the-Pooh. And Tigger, too. And all of Pooh Bear’s friends. I absolutely love the books, with the brilliant and charming word play of A. A. Milne and the beautiful illustrations by E. H. Shepard. And I can’t stop giggling when I listen to the delightful audiobooks narrated by Peter Dennis, who puts so much personality into the voice of every character. On top of that, the Pooh Disney movies are chicken soup for my soul. Literally anytime that I’m not feeling well, I read a hardcover Pooh book or listen to a Pooh audiobook or watch a Pooh movie, and my spirits are instantly lifted. I AM OBSESSED WITH POOH AND FRIENDS AND I ADORE THEM WITH AN ABIDING AND EVERLASTING LOVE. So how could I not enjoy the autobiography of their author, A.A. Milne? *Sad sigh

He starts by recounting the halcyon days of his Victorian childhood, which made for lovely reading of the sleepy variety, and cured my insomnia. So far, so good!

Then he switches to the next topic and talks about his writing career for the rest of the book. And that’s pretty much it.

This is not the autobiography of a human being; it is the autobiography of a writer. (I know, I know, it was right there in the book title the whole time, and I just ignored it.) It doesn’t contain the sentimental ramblings of an elderly man looking back on his life (which is what I really wanted to read). Rather, it’s the recounting of the landmarks of his writing career, as told by a middle-aged man. As I was reading, I kept thinking: come on, tell me who you are, tell me what you love, tell me what you hate, tell me what makes you tick. Nope, he wouldn’t give me any of that…no feelings, nothing heartfelt, nothing from his soul.

When he talked about the Pooh stories, he said (and this totally broke my heart):
I am not inordinately fond of or interested in children; their appeal to me is a physical appeal such as the young of other animals make. I have never felt in the least sentimental about them, or no more sentimental than one becomes for a moment over a puppy or a kitten. In as far as I understand their minds the understanding is based on the observation, casual enough and mostly unconscious, which I give to people generally: on memories of my own childhood: and on the imagination which every writer must bring to memory and observation…. A pen-picture of a child which showed it as loving, grateful and full of thought for others would be false to the truth; but equally false would be a picture which insisted on the brutal egotism of the child, and ignored the physical beauty which softens it.

Oh, come on now, Mr. Milne! Of course, children are selfish; we’re all born that way. But children have much more than physical beauty to soften their selfishness. What about the precious wide-eyed wonder of childhood, the innocent curiosity, the spirit of adventure, the adorable playfulness, the insatiable thirst for learning new things? Not only this passage but several others in the book left me with the impression that he had never bonded with his own son, Christopher Robin Milne, and that perhaps he even resented his child. I was so puzzled about this strange attitude of the author of my beloved Pooh books until I suddenly realized: that’s what war can do to people.

AMATEUR SOLDIER 1914–1918
I should like to put asterisks here, and then write: ‘It was in 1919 that I found myself once again a civilian.’ For it makes me almost physically sick to think of that nightmare of mental and moral degradation, the war. When my boy was six years old he took me into the Insect House at the Zoo, and at the sight of some of the monstrous inmates I had to leave his hand and hurry back into the fresh air. I could imagine a spider or a millipede so horrible that in its presence I should die of disgust. It seems impossible to me now that any sensitive man could live through another war. If not required to die in other ways, he would waste away of soul-sickness. I was a pacifist before 1914, but this (I thought with other fools) was a war to end war. It did not make the prospect of being a soldier any more attractive. There was an extraordinary idea among the elderly that ‘being a soldier’ meant just no more than ‘risking your life for your country,’ and that the man who was unwilling to do this was a coward, and that the man who was willing to do this was a hero.

In the Great War (as in many other wars), there were the soldiers who died, and there were the soldiers who wished that they had. I believe that A.A. Milne was among the latter. And I’m sure that the “shell shock” haunted him for the rest of his life. So, yeah, this autobiography was really disappointing for me. But it seems that, after the war, Milne (along with so many others of that “lost generation”) simply had nothing left to give. He had already ‘wasted away of soul-sickness’. How terribly sad.

Really, I am the one who is injecting sadness here. The autobiography itself barely touches on the war. His recounting of his childhood has a very sentimental feel to it and, in contrast, his stories about his writing career feel very robotic and emotionless to me.

If I could take back the time that I spent reading this autobiography, I would rather have spent it reading one of his novels or plays.

Recommended for: Fans of A.A. Milne who have read lots of his novels and plays (not just Winnie-the-Pooh) and who want to learn more about his writing career.

Where I found it: Ebook purchased from the Kindle store.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Milne's plays and short stories. I went in with high hopes, as Simon Thomas (British Library) highly recommended the book. It's definitely beautifully written and funny. He talks about how luck played a role in his life, showing humility. In his school days at Henley House, one of his science tutors was H G Wells! His parents seemed very supportive of his writing. His brother Ken is prominently featured. Did not know he was a Trinity man.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much an account of its time and place. It's fascinating how much childhood has changed, although I don't think Milne's childhood was typical; he and his older brother walking together unaccompanied for hours around the countryside and the city when they were 3 and 5 respectively, for example. Much of his life is that of the privileged university-educated class, sometimes reminding me of Bertie Wooster (although his father was a laborer who managed to raise himself to a teacher with his own school). Milne presents himself with humor and unpretentiously.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first hundred pages or so, and only moderately enjoyed the rest. I think this is because Milne's writing style was exactly the same throughout, and the self-deprecating humor and false humility ceased to be funny after a hundred pages of it. But he's a fascinating guy and he did manage to keep my interest through the end of the book, which is saying something. Over half of the book was concerned with his childhood and adolescence (up to age 21), which I really appreciated - I generally find a person's childhood (which is mostly concerned with being themselves) more interesting than their adulthood (which is mostly concerned with developing their career).

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An 'honest' autobiography, in that the author is totally open about his attitudes, prejudices, opinions, advantages, and difficulties. A fascinating portrait of another time and place and a charming 'listening' experience via audiobook.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed. While there were slightly interesting insights into his childhood and career, there was surprisingly little about his relationship with his son, and I longed for more about the books that made him famous. But Milne wished to "escape from them".
His writing style is readable and amusing, and if you're keen to learn about the life of a famous writer and you're not fussed that there are barely six pages about his most famous works, you'll probably enjoy this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So delightfully British. A. A. Milne's childhood is the focus here, lovingly related in charming detail. I recommend this for Anglophiles - you know who you are. His writing of the Winnie-the-Pooh books is extremely brief, so don't read it for that.

[Natalie (CuriousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Alexander Milne's "Autobiography"/"It's too late now" is divided into seven stages of his life: child, schoolboy, undergraduate, freelance, assistant editor, amateur soldier, and author. I think these parts give you a good idea of what to expect from the book. The first two parts talks of things like Milne's family life, upbringing, school life and developing of his personality - even his interests and some of his early ideas that came to be significant later on when he became a writer. On the other hand a great deal of the latter parts focus on the development of his writing career; from the point where he first got interested in writing, to his first jobs, and goes further into the production of some of his first works as an author.

This autobiography was published in 1939, and I would like to say it's very much of its time. What I mean by that is that Milne talks of things a reader in the 21th century might not necessarily be familiar with, or it might be topics that are local in nature. Sometimes there are lengthy discussions on topics that would likely bore many readers, like his description of sports had even me yawning (like the whole cricket thing!). But for someone who is interested in Milne or especially - if you get along with his writing, I definitely think it's worth reading. Not only can you see the humor that is very much a part of the Pooh stories here, but I think you can see a little glimpse too of the workings behind it. This comic and almost satirical tone seems to be typical of Milne's writing. He repeatedly pokes fun at himself or at the reader, or even winks at the reader, sometimes it seems he even forgets the reader. I personally just find Milne's writing to be both charming, clever, and fun to read and this book has made me want to read all of his extensive work, aside from the obvious children's short stories and poetry that seems to be mainly what is still in print by this author.

Aside from finding this interesting as a sort of time capsule of a lost time and place, and experiencing Milne's cheery voice, there's also something of interest here for people interested either in 20th century literary life or specifically in how Milne became and developed as a writer. He talks of his work with Granta, meetings with famous authors like H. G. Wells, J. M. Barrie, and Rudyard Kipling, mentions the scorn of Dorothy Parker. He writes about his feelings of being mainly known as a children's fiction writer, his thoughts on different mediums of writing like the differences between writing plays and novels (he definitely seemed to have preferred the former), how specific works came to be and from what sort of inspiration they developed. He even comments on art on a broader scale towards the very end of the book, and offers his two scents on the future of art (literature included).

I think this is likely the sort of book you'll only pick up if you're already a Milne fan, and for those of you that are - I warmly recommend it!

[Lana Lynne Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of A.A. Milne. It started with 'Winnie the Pooh' in childhood, but through the years, his verse and other writings captured me. After reading It’s Too Late Now: the autobiography of a writer, I am downloading even more of his works. I delighted in his recollections of his life from childhood to adulthood. While self-effacing throughout the narrative, he also communicates a candid awareness of his intelligence and strengths. His transparency attributes much to the support and assistance of his brother, as well as his wife. The reader will find his deepest affections in his relationships with them. If a reader is looking for a sentimental treatise on Pooh, this is not the volume. Although he mentions his son—whom they called ‘Billy Moon’ or ‘Moon’ instead of his given name of Christopher Robin—with fondness, an expansion isn���t provided. The character of Christopher Robin and the animal characters sprang from the inspiration of the real boy and the toys in his nursery, but the characters’ personalities are from the author’s imagination and are fiction. There are hints that the boy within the author and his own childhood experiences shaped the character of each more than the inspirations. The short mention of his children’s verses and the Pooh stories flow within the chronology of his life and their place within his writing journey. The later sections—those during and post the first World War—engaged me the most. By the time the reader reaches those, a firm acquaintance with Mr. Milne’s perspective is established and all writer’s will delight in his writing and publishing experiences, as well as his keen advice to fellow writers. This book is a delight. If you are searching for more about his son, read The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne. I have, but I warn you not to expect to find the book character there. Like his father, the real person is different. I also enjoyed Christopher’s book, but I liked this one a bit more. Instead of watching movies and books others have compiled, read this book if you want to meet A.A. Milne. I’m glad I did. Please excuse me, I have his Red House Mystery, some of his plays, and Once on a Time to read.       

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

March 2023 (4 stars)
I don't know. It was interesting to read once. I'm amazed that I'd never heard before that Milne used to live in Westgate-on-Sea. You'd think that fact would be more publicised locally. So from that point of view, and all his references to Thanet, it was interesting. Secondly, there is plenty of gentle humour in there, as you would rather expect from Milne. Thirdly, there are plenty of interesting reminiscences. But, on the downside, it's a bit disappointing to hear his continual somewhat disparaging references to Christianity. Maybe disparagement is the wrong word – but indifference at the very least (but it was interesting to discover his descent from a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Jamaica). Perhaps the other slight negative is that there are lots of loose ends. Having heard so much about his parents and brothers, it seems rather a shame that they kind of fall by the wayside as things progress and so we never get a sense of closure, even though the dedication makes us aware his brother has died. It would have been nice to have had a few details provided just to round things off better. The book ends in a rather dull and rather unsatisfactorily open-ended way (as perhaps it had to when he was still alive and well!). The book felt quite long and I wouldn't say it was easy reading as such. Often with the humour you had to work hard to get it. You could sense when he had said something witty but sometimes you had to go back and re-read the previous few sentences again several times just to work out exactly what it was he was saying, to work out exactly what the joke was.

August 2025 (4 stars)
If it was interesting to read once, it remained interesting to read twice. I think it's the kind of book where all the connections don't really sink in at first. Many of the people he mentions - other authors and such like - might not mean that much to you at the time of first time you read it, but maybe a few years down the line, when you might have become more familiar with their names and their work, the anecdotes concerning them take on a new interest or become more significant.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This falls under the heading of "I liked it but..."
I'm not sure age (this was published in 1934) has helped this book. It's old school autobiography, which means it isn't a memoir of his writing life of a portion of his life, it is the straightforward story of his life. In other words...it's long. I liked reading of his Victorian childhood, his war years interested me because that just interests me, and there was some interesting bits of his author life for sure but there is a large bit on his education and life as an editor that just felt like filler. I mean, it's A.A. Milne, his powers of observation and description are spot on as always.
There's really not much Winnie-the-Pooh in here at ALL, which is disappointing. Probably in his day he was better known as a journalist and playwright than he is now, but I wanted to see less of that and more of the poet and creator of Pooh.
I'm not sorry I read it. I'm just sorry it's as long as it is.

[Mark Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of AA Milne, of his articles and short stories for adults as well as his children's books. His laid back, casual, inconsequential humour suits me. I may be wrong but I think of it as a peculiarly English style of humour. In this autobiography the inconsequence sometimes becomes so great that in places it obscures the meaning but generally it is a very readable book. It is funny but it also deals with serious topics - society, education, politics and of course war, on which Milne was outspoken; it is often difficult to remember that Milne experienced trench warfare on the Western Front in 1916-17, something that affected him profoundly, as it did almost everyone who went through it. But this is a joyous read.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to know about the genesis of Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner this is not the book for you; they are only mentioned in passing. The narrative is fuller on the early years and Milne's relationship with his brother Ken.He is also keen to stress his role as a playwright, a poet, an editor and his adult fiction and down plays his writing for children.

[Tais Zolotkovska · Rating 5 out of 5]

сподобалась мова, якою написана книга. самоіронія, подробиці шляху письменника. я дуже люблю прозу Мілна, тож з радістю прочитала і про його дитинство, студентство і дорослі роки.

[Silvia Cachia]

I love A.A. Milne's biography.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little tricky to rate this - so take the stars with a grain of salt. Some bits dragged, and others were just so delightful. In any case I don't regret reading it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful insight into the life of A A Milne. Particularly liked the section of the booking dealing with his time at Punch magazine. He includes in this section the obituary he wrote on the death of his Punch colleague E V Lucas - a wonderful piece of writing. And I was surprised to discover he only wrote two books containing stories of Winnie the Pooh.

[Zaiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is as hilarious when writing about his own life as he is writing about Pooh's. :) I wish he was a) still alive b) my friend.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This is the author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO fascinating. The more I read about and from Milne, the more I want to read. So many times he says things just how I feel I would say them or in the way I think about something.

[Tatyana Naumova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Милн написал не только про Винни-Пуха! Вот так новости!
Вообще очень милая и дружелюбная автобиография (хотя англичане вообще хороши в этом: съешьте кекс, укройтесь пледом, а я пока поболтаю).