At two-thirds of the way through The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne, I was incredibly frustrated. I was not enjoying the book. I had wanted to, I had heard good things from friends and had seen positive reviews on other blogs, but I was having trouble with it. Was it the format perhaps? The short chapters, mini-essays really? The lack of narrative structure? These things don’t usually bother me but I think I had gone into the book expecting it to be more of a traditional biography and less…episodic?
Finally, I realised the main problem: it had been too long since I had read any of A.A. Milne’s works. As a child, my father read me the Winnie-the-Pooh books but we were far greater fans of Milne’s poetry and, while I can still recite “Disobedience” and “The Dormouse and the Doctor”, I cannot tell you where Eeyore lived. The first portion of the books is very much Christopher Milne’s life in contrast to Christopher Robin’s and, when you can’t remember much about Christopher Robin, you rather miss the point.
Eventually though, the book settled into a more cohesive, focused style that I found far easier to read and enjoy. It also concentrated on Christopher’s relationship with his father which, honestly, is what I wanted to read about. Despite being one of the most beloved children’s authors, A.A. Milne was not greatly involved in his son’s early years. He may have written about his son (or some alternative version of his son) but he did not necessarily need to be involved with Christopher to take inspiration from him:
There are two sorts of writer. There is the writer who is basically a reporter and there is the creative writer. The one draws on his experiences, the other on his dreams. My father was a creative writer and so it was precisely because he was not able to play with his small son that his longings sought and found satisfaction in another direction. He wrote about him instead. (P. 36)
By adolescence, the two had formed close bonds, despite their earlier distance, becoming not just father and son but friends. A.A. may have spoiled Christopher a little, allowing his son to rely on him more than was probably good for his development, but it created a bond between them that was abnormally close, particularly for father-son relationships of that era. Even as Christopher continued to age, through school and, from the quick glimpse we see, his time in the army during WWII, the friendship between them held.
Having enjoyed the concluding portion of the book so much, I must try to track down the remaining two-thirds of this autobiographical trilogy: The Path Through the Trees and The Hollow on the Hill. They both appear to be rather obscure but that just means more time spent combing through used bookstores. How I suffer.
James,James Morrison, Morrison Wetherby George Dupree, took great care of his mother, though he was ony three…..(and so on)
It was one of my favourites! I liked The Kings Breakfast too.
I read both the pems and Winnie the Pooh with my mum, but I wasn’t aware of this book, but I’m going to keep a look out now. It sounds interesting.
It’s not the easiest book to find but definitely worth a read if you do locate a copy!
I’m glad this clicked for you in the end, since I was one of the reasons you got hold of it! The Path Through The Trees is about his experience at war, and running a bookshop, (not at the same time!) and is my favourite of the trilogy. Do try and track it down!
Thanks so much for bringing my attention to it in the first place! I am really looking forward to finding (and reading) The Path Through the Trees.
Let me know if/when you find it and want to read it, and I’ll re-read alongside!
I loved A Path Through The Trees. It was interesting to read what a perilous venture opening a bookshop was, even in the pre-Amazon ’50s & ’60s, and even for someone with a famous literary name. Reading about how picture framing and greeting cards where what allowed Milne’s business to flourish makes me seriously wonder how any small bookshop gets along today.
I’m still looking for a copy of A Path Through the Trees, especially now that I’m hearing from everyone how wonderful it is!
I really like your blog! Keep up the good work!