A. A. Milne (1882–1956) was a successful author, screenwriter, and playwright who produced eighteen plays and three novels before publishing his best-known works for children. The magazine Punch was his literary home. He joined the staff in 1906, contributing verse and humorous essays, and in 1924 introduced Winnie-the-Pooh in the poem “Teddy Bear.” His two collections of children’s poetry, When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, as well as the enchanting Winnie-the-Pooh and House at Pooh Corner, are his most enduring legacy.

Secret Papers

An Essay

by A. A. Milne

The cabinet, or whatever I am to call it, has looked stolidly at me from the corner of the library for years. It is nothing more than a row of pigeon-holes in which I keep my secret papers. At least, the man who sold it to me recommended it for this purpose, dwelling lovingly as he did so upon the strength of the lock. So I bought it—in those first days (how far away!) when I came to London to set the Thames on fire.

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