An Evening with Gyles Brandreth

Presented by Village Books and Alleyn's School.

Somewhere, a boy and a bear.

The extraordinary story of A A Milne, Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh

2026 marks the centenary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh, one of the best-selling children’s books of all time. Best-selling biographer Gyles Brandreth knew the real Christopher Robin and Somewhere, A Boy And A Bear is both an intimate and revealing biography of A A Milne.

This is both a book about Winnie-the-Pooh - his genesis, his life across a hundred years, the essence of Pooh’s special philosophy and the reasons for his worldwide popularity - and the intimate biography of three generations of an unusual, fascinating and troubled family who knew fame and fortune, for many years despising both, but ultimately finding a profound reason to be grateful for the millions Pooh brought them.

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, podcaster, trustee of The Queen’s Reading Room charity, former MP and Chancellor of the University of Chester, as well as a regular on shows like Just a Minute, QI, Celebrity Gogglebox and This Morning. His many books include nine detective novels (The Victorian Murder Mysteries) and his best-selling autobiography Odd Boy Out. Since 2022 he has been appearing on stage with Dame Judi Dench in a show celebrating her life and on tour throughout the country with his own one man show. An award-winning podcaster, he hosts the multi-million download Top Ten podcast Rosebud exploring the first memories of remarkable people.