Compare and Contrast Authors
Alan Alexander Milne and Alexander McCall Smith are two of the world’s most beloved authors, and share much more than the name Alexander. These two authors wrote several children stories, and were quite famous. Although, their writing styles may differ, they share the ability for you to unhinge your mind and let it be free. Milne started out as a comedian writer for a magazine in New York, and he eventually evolved into a champion for children’s. Both Smith’s and Milne’s written work is currently viewed on TV around the globe.
The portion of Milne’s work that is broadcasted on television is the famous “Winnie the Pooh” series. “Winnie the Pooh” was the story that engraved Milne’s name into history books, and was even made into several other products. Now, Smith’s book “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” is one of the world’s most popular series, and a very well known television show. Unlike “Winnie the Pooh” Smith’s series won several awards including New York Bestseller and Booker Prize for Fiction Judges. Inspiration can come in many forms.
It may come as a bird with a tied message, a child, war, or even your own home. As for Milne’s inspiration it came from different sources, such as WWI and his son. One of Milne’s stories, “Peace with Honor”, was written after his resignation from the army, and is a reflection on war. As for “Winnie the Pooh”, it was originally written for adults in order to bring out the inner child. The inspiration behind the Pooh books was Milne’s child. Milne’s inspiration is very different from where Smith derived. For Smith, many of his stories are enthused from African folk tales. The “No. Ladies’ Detective Agency” was inspired from watching a woman chase a chicken in her front yard, and at that moment McCall Smith literally wanted to write about an African woman, thus the “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” was born. But even now Smith writes a series known as “44. Scotland Street”, which is inspired from…nothing. Smith was merely dreaming up an interesting story at the time, and had no need for some great inspirational event to happen. A writer’s style is always identified by reading a majority of his/her books, and is usually found to have a narrow writing style.
Whether it be mystery, comedy, adventurous, or drama, Milne seemed to write whatever he felt like writing, even if the public’s opinion opposed it. Many of Milne’s stories seemed to have a plot of a child’s book, but as we all know many were meant for the child within us. Smith’s style of writing is similar to Milne’s; they’ll both make you form a slight grin on your face because you might find the situation a bit humorous. However, in “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency”, Smith wrote about adventurous mystery solvers, who would grab your attention on every page.
After a story is read there is always some reflection to what was just read, and even compared to another book that was just read. In this situation A. A. Milne would win. Even though McCall Smith may be more adventurous and silly (much like me) I find having the child brought out within is much more surreal when reading one of A. A. Milne’s book. Neither fame nor an interesting birth place will help Smith, for his stories are too simple and plain much of that of a child’s brain. As for Milne, his wide view of writing style, and interesting characters are key to a reader’s enjoyment.
