Happy Half Hours by A.A. Milne
I’ve often thought how frustrating it must be for an author to have been prolific during their writing career, and yet only ever remembered for one particular work. A.A. Milne is a case in point; most casual readers would only know his Winnie the Pooh tales, which are of course quite marvellous. However, they’re not the end of the story when it comes to Milne; he was a prolific and well-known author of plays, poetry, novels and screenplays before Pooh Bear came along and eclipsed everything else.
Because of this, many of his non-Pooh works were unavailable for years, and in fact one delight has been the reissue of some of his novels and short stories – I’ve read and loved “The Red House Mystery” and “Four Days’ Wonder” for example in recent years. However, Milne really *was* prolific and many of his short pieces haven’t seen the light of day for ages. However, rather wonderfully, Notting Hill Editions have just released a beautiful edition of selected writings, entitled “Happy Half-Hours” – and what a joy it is! 😀
Every now and then doctors slap me about and ask me if I was always as thin as this. ‘As thin as what?’ I say with as much dignity as is possible to a man who has had his shirt taking away from him. ‘As thin as this,’ says the doctor, hooking his stethoscope on to one of my ribs, and then going round the other side to see how I am getting on there. I am slightly better on the other side, but he runs his pencil up and down me and produces that pleasing noise which small boys get by dragging a stick along railings.
Milne wrote many pieces for magazines like Punch; light and witty articles on any subject from love and marriage to the joys of golf. Many of those works are included here, and the book is divided into sections with titles like “Literary Life”, “Home Life”, “Public Life” etc. In fact, the first piece in the book “My Library” will resonate with anyone who ever despairs of getting their collection of books into a sensible order; in the end Milne seems to advocate leaving them just as they are!
Art is not life, but an exaggeration of it; life reinforced by the personality of the artist. A work of art is literally “too good to be true.” That is why we shall never see Turner’s sunsets in this world, nor meet Mr Micawber. We only wish we could.
Milne’s pieces on the literary world are a great joy, and his take on married life a hoot – whether as the eternal wedding guest, or struggling with domestic crises like a bath that refuses to fill and empty in a sensible time, Milne can make you laugh at anything. “Heavy Work” was very funny, with the rueful Milne being told off by his doctor for being so skinny and then attempting to put on weight….And “Geographical Research” dismisses quite wonderfully the need to learn geography at all (which would suit me, as I never could the hang of east and west…) Instead, everyone should simply be provided with an efficient atlas!
International politics is a morass of treachery, theft, broken promises, lies, evasions, bluff, trickiness, bullying, deliberate misunderstanding and shabby attempts to get an opponent into a false position.
However, there is a serious side to Milne on display here, which might be a bit of surprise to some. Having served in World War 1 he became, like many survivors of that conflict, a strong pacifist; and the section of the book entitled “Peaceful Life” contains some powerful pieces arguing against war, with which I couldn’t help but agree. Milne is not an author you’d initially think of turning to for thoughts on war and peace, yet he obviously felt passionately about this; and although I disagreed with some of his later views on the efficacy of the atomic bomb as a deterrent, nevertheless it’s quite clear his beliefs came from the heart.
Reading these wonderful writings by A.A. Milne, I couldn’t help sharing some of Christopher Robin’s dismay at the popularity of the Winnie the Pooh books (although for very different reasons…). Milne senior was a really marvellous, punchy and entertaining author – and I’ve loved his adult fictions too – so it’s such a shame that the breadth of his writing hasn’t had appreciation it deserves. Witty, eloquent and profound, these selected writings of A.A. Milne are a sheer delight, and hopefully this is a wonderful release from Notting Hill Editions will bring him to a wider audience – highly recommended!
Oct 28, 2020 @ 08:38:08
Love the sound of this. Well done Notting Hill Editions for introducing readers to Milne’s other writing. I imagine writers feel much like bands whose audiences only want to hear their greatest hits!
Oct 28, 2020 @ 10:58:49
That’s a good analogy! 😀 Notting Hill are very good at putting together volumes which are perfect introductions to authors – as my shelves show…. ;D
Oct 28, 2020 @ 08:43:41
Lovely review! When I first started reading AAM, there was basically nothing in print, so it has been wonderful to see the slow but steady re-emergence of his things, and Notting Hill Editions have done a lovely job here.
Oct 28, 2020 @ 10:58:08
Thanks Simon! I had a feeling you would be enjoying this one too! When I first read The Red House Mystery I was frustrated to find out how little else of his writing was available but things have come on leaps and bounds since then. And this is a really wonderful collection – such an entertaining selection of his work! 😀
Oct 28, 2020 @ 09:33:22
Considering all the drabble on TV these days, reflecting a dearth of solid material, it really is baffling that the powers that be don’t mine these neglected writings.
Readers, after all, are in short supply, unlike the much wider viewership.
Oct 28, 2020 @ 10:56:49
Since I rarely watch TV I would agree – most of it is tripe….
Oct 28, 2020 @ 14:29:55
I just ordered this! Really looking forward to reading more of his work.
Oct 28, 2020 @ 15:17:37
Fab! I do hope you enjoy it – I thought it was just wonderful!
Oct 28, 2020 @ 14:33:52
That is a lovely little book. After reading ‘The Red House Mystery’ a few years back, I was quite disappointed to find out that it was the only mystery he wrote, but I’m glad more of his work is making its way into print again.
Oct 28, 2020 @ 15:16:06
It *is* very pretty! And I’m so glad that his works are coming back into print. Although it’s more of a spoof than an actual detective story, you might enjoy his “Four Days’ Wonder” if you haven’t already read it!
Oct 29, 2020 @ 16:17:11
I haven’t and it looks like the Bello edition from the UK is available here as an ebook, so some day….
Oct 29, 2020 @ 19:27:44
Excellent! 😀
Oct 28, 2020 @ 17:19:11
This does sound like a joy, a mix of the light and the more serious. I bought a clutch of A A Milne when the Book people had them on offer, and so far have only read Four Days Wonder.
Oct 28, 2020 @ 19:00:02
It is, and it does make me keen to read more by Milne. I have the Book People set somewhere – it’s just a case of finding it! 😀
Oct 28, 2020 @ 17:22:51
This sounds marvellous I love the heading quotation, how absolutely true!
Oct 28, 2020 @ 18:59:34
It is! And the book is full of the most quotable and readable prose. Absolutely lovely!
Oct 29, 2020 @ 04:43:11
I confess I had NO idea he wrote anything besides the Pooh books until I read this — the excerpts you quoted sound really, really fun! And what he said about international politics is (unfortunately) timeless, and too true.
Oct 29, 2020 @ 11:10:10
His non-Pooh work is definitely worth exploring. I love his non-fiction writing (and this is a really good introduction) but his novels are fun too. The Red House Mystery is fab!
Oct 29, 2020 @ 06:23:36
I’d buy it for the title alone, and your review convinced me even more. It’s making its way to Finland as we speak 😄
Oct 29, 2020 @ 11:09:14
LOL! It *is* a joy – such wonderful reading!
Oct 29, 2020 @ 21:54:59
What a fascinating collection!
Oct 30, 2020 @ 12:11:28
It’s quite lovely, and just shows what a range of writing he had! 😀
Oct 31, 2020 @ 17:08:36
This sounds an absolute delight 🙂 I can think of a few people to buy it for for Christmas too…
Oct 31, 2020 @ 17:11:08
It *would* make the perfect Christmas gift – wonderfully dippable and delightful! 😀
Oct 31, 2020 @ 23:01:02
What a wonderful review! I am ashamed to admit that I had no idea he was such a prolific writer; I only knew him through Winnie the Pooh. But you have piqued my interest and I’m going to check out his other work. Thanks!
Nov 01, 2020 @ 11:11:54
Thank you! His non-Pooh writings are really varied – from journalism to mysteries to novels to all sorts. This collection does give a good idea of what his writing is like!
Nov 18, 2020 @ 16:24:03
It does make me sad to think of how this impacted various authors. How they wouldn’t have been able to fully enjoy their own success when it seemed to come at an unexpected cost. (I think of L.M. Montgomery who felt she had to continue writing about Anne Shirley, long after she had fallen out of love with her character. And I think of Robert Service, a Canadian poet who was known for his long narrative poems, highly memorizable by generations of Canadian students, about the north and history/mythology, who came to loathe those poems and yearn for a fraction of the attention paid to them to be directed to his “proper” poems, his serious work.) You and Simon have certainly brought AAM into my thinking “past Pooh”; I do have one of his earlier novels (for adults) and will pull it off the shelf one of these days!
Nov 18, 2020 @ 21:01:13
Agreed – so difficult for an author if they want to move on. I mean, I don’t think that Simenon particularly loved Maigret, and Christie apparently loathed Poirot. We need to allow our authors to move on and write as widely as they need to. I hope you enjoy Milne’s adult works!
Dec 14, 2020 @ 07:01:35