The life and times of the real Winnie-the-Pooh: the teddy bear who inspired A.A. Milne

When Christopher Robin Milne was given a Farnell teddy bear from Harrods, he didn t realise how much it would change his life. He named it after a real Canadian bear at London Zoo, Winifred or Winnie for short. And Winnie the Pooh was born. His father, A.A. Milne, created a series of books around his son s toy bear and its friends, not realising that this would destroy his relationship with his child. Or that Pooh himself would become a jetsetter, emigrating to America where he remains today except for a short visit back to his old home in Hartfield, Sussex, where he was to meet Shirley Harrison, the author who was to write his biography over 30 years later. This, then, is the story of the real Winnie the Pooh, the actual bear on whom Milne based his book. For the first time, those involved with the Milne family tell their stories and share their previously unpublished photos, including the day when Winnie the Pooh came home and played Pooh Sticks.