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A Table Near The Band
One should expect a table near the band to offer a view of other tables, at each one of which some story may well be in the making.
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
6 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
A.A. Milne
1,845 books3,745 followersAlan Alexander Milne (pronounced /ˈmɪln/) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems.
A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.
Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.
After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."
He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".
He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.
A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father. One of his teachers was H. G. Wells who taught there in 1889–90. Milne attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied on a mathematics scholarship. While there, he edited and wrote for Granta, a student magazine. He collaborated with his brother Kenneth and their articles appeared over the initials AKM. Milne's work came to the attention of the leading British humour magazine Punch, where Milne was to become a contributor and later an assistant editor.
Milne joined the British Army in World War I and served as an officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and later, after a debilitating illness, the Royal Corps of Signals. He was discharged on February 14, 1919.
After the war, he wrote a denunciation of war titled Peace with Honour (1934), which he retracted somewhat with 1940's War with Honour. During World War II, Milne was one of the most prominent critics of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, who was captured at his country home in France by the Nazis and imprisoned for a year. Wodehouse made radio broadcasts about his internment, which were broadcast from Berlin. Although the light-hearted broadcasts made fun of the Germans, Milne accused Wodehouse of committing an act of near treason by cooperating with his country's enemy. Wodehouse got some revenge on his former friend by creating fatuous parodies of the Christopher Robin poems in some of his later stories, and claiming that Milne "was probably jealous of all other writers.... But I loved his stuff."
He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted".
He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 21, 2019
I will admit that to me A A Milne is the creator of Whinie the Pooh and all the out inhabitants of the the 1000 acre woods- so to find out that not only did he write a crime novel (the Red House) but also he was a prolific writer in general was a bit of a surprise - sadly I have allowed popular culture and expectations to base my knowledge when really I should have checked for myself.
So when I came across the chance to have a selection of his work I jumped at the chance. And so here we have the first book in the set - A table near the band. A collection of short stories range in size but never more than a dozen pages or so.
Some of the stories could almost be treated as cautionary tales (am sure there is a specific name for them) whereby the author wanted explore a situation or event, the title story is a perfect example of this.
However there is also the fact you get to explore the writing style and vocabulary of A A Mile - after all Whinie the Pooh is hardly a literary challenge (and nor should it be) so here you get to see the full talent of Milne and I must admit it was very educational. True the language can read a little dated but considering when these stories were written (the anthology was first published in 1950 the stories themselves earlier) the stories are quite mature.
So when I came across the chance to have a selection of his work I jumped at the chance. And so here we have the first book in the set - A table near the band. A collection of short stories range in size but never more than a dozen pages or so.
Some of the stories could almost be treated as cautionary tales (am sure there is a specific name for them) whereby the author wanted explore a situation or event, the title story is a perfect example of this.
However there is also the fact you get to explore the writing style and vocabulary of A A Mile - after all Whinie the Pooh is hardly a literary challenge (and nor should it be) so here you get to see the full talent of Milne and I must admit it was very educational. True the language can read a little dated but considering when these stories were written (the anthology was first published in 1950 the stories themselves earlier) the stories are quite mature.
February 4, 2008
I must be the first person to review this book on all of goodreads, seeing as I had to "create" a place for it on the website. Good times.
I only went in for it because Milne wrote the introduction to a Saki collection I own, but I was glad I did. Aside from two puzzling "mystery" tales ('Murder at Eleven', and 'Portrait of Lydia'), every story in here was really enjoyable.
At times you feel like Milne is over reaching his gifts a little when he tries to get unnecessarily "serious" on the reader ('A Man Greatly Beloved', or 'The River'), and he is best when he is at his silliest ('A Table Near the Band', 'The Rise and Fall...', 'The Three Dreams...', or 'The Wibberley Touch')...
But then again, 'The Prettiest Girl in the Room' gave me the guilty warm and fuzzies of a good romantic comedy, and in a surprising ending, 'The Balcony', while absurd to some extent, is as "heavy" as anything Milne attempts to write earlier in the collection. It really is a moving story. Head and shoulders above the rest of the collection, for me anyway, and I'm surprised I haven't seen it anthologized outside of this book.
You might have to get it from the library (I did), but if you can get your hands on it, give it a go.
I only went in for it because Milne wrote the introduction to a Saki collection I own, but I was glad I did. Aside from two puzzling "mystery" tales ('Murder at Eleven', and 'Portrait of Lydia'), every story in here was really enjoyable.
At times you feel like Milne is over reaching his gifts a little when he tries to get unnecessarily "serious" on the reader ('A Man Greatly Beloved', or 'The River'), and he is best when he is at his silliest ('A Table Near the Band', 'The Rise and Fall...', 'The Three Dreams...', or 'The Wibberley Touch')...
But then again, 'The Prettiest Girl in the Room' gave me the guilty warm and fuzzies of a good romantic comedy, and in a surprising ending, 'The Balcony', while absurd to some extent, is as "heavy" as anything Milne attempts to write earlier in the collection. It really is a moving story. Head and shoulders above the rest of the collection, for me anyway, and I'm surprised I haven't seen it anthologized outside of this book.
You might have to get it from the library (I did), but if you can get your hands on it, give it a go.
April 11, 2020
It really is a shame that A.A. Milne is not better known for his short stories because these really were very good. Thoroughly enjoyable which is just what we need at the moment. I'm now keen to try some of his novels for adults.
December 21, 2019
Having read and enjoyed 'The Red House' earlier this year, I seized upon a series of books by AA Milne and selected 'A Table By The Band' as my first read. It is a quaint selection of short stories, very much of their time, often anchored by the social conventions of the early 20th century, set against a very British Backdrop. Think 'A Brief Encounter' and you won't be far off.
Many of the stories have a comic interplay set around that comedy of manners around which polite society revolves: things left unsaid in order to maintain a status quo or preserve the stiff upper lip of middle class pretension. If written 50 years later, many of these stories would be likened to Alan Ayckbourn's works.
Alongside the comic, there are cautionary tales, some with a darker edge. I particularly liked 'A Man Greatly Beloved' narrated by a precocious 15-year-old girl with authorial aspirations. This provided an entertaining viewpoint for an unfolding detective story. 'The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens' was another favourite with a suitable comeuppance for its scheming protagonist. I also enjoyed 'Before the Flood' which took the biblical story of Noah's Arc and applied practical reasoning to the preparation of preparing a vessel which need to accommodate its human cargo, two of every animal species and sufficient provisions to keep them afloat for up to a year.
Generally, I am not a great lover of short stories. I find a novel to be more embracing and captivating - a form which wills you on to turn the next page while entertaining or educating. However, this was a pleasant diversion before taking on something which would command more time - a series of yarns from which you could easily dip in and out.
Many of the stories have a comic interplay set around that comedy of manners around which polite society revolves: things left unsaid in order to maintain a status quo or preserve the stiff upper lip of middle class pretension. If written 50 years later, many of these stories would be likened to Alan Ayckbourn's works.
Alongside the comic, there are cautionary tales, some with a darker edge. I particularly liked 'A Man Greatly Beloved' narrated by a precocious 15-year-old girl with authorial aspirations. This provided an entertaining viewpoint for an unfolding detective story. 'The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens' was another favourite with a suitable comeuppance for its scheming protagonist. I also enjoyed 'Before the Flood' which took the biblical story of Noah's Arc and applied practical reasoning to the preparation of preparing a vessel which need to accommodate its human cargo, two of every animal species and sufficient provisions to keep them afloat for up to a year.
Generally, I am not a great lover of short stories. I find a novel to be more embracing and captivating - a form which wills you on to turn the next page while entertaining or educating. However, this was a pleasant diversion before taking on something which would command more time - a series of yarns from which you could easily dip in and out.
September 17, 2010
Though known primarily as a children's author, Milne did occasionally write for adults. This is a collection of short stories for grown people.
I admit, I was a little wary to begin with. Besides the glaring absence of talking animals, the book opens with a story about a coquettish, young socialite. (I've nothing against them, but one gets tired of reading the same narrative over, and over, and over again). Thankfully, he moved on to other subjects, and you know what? They were delightful, thought-provoking, and startlingly relevant. No talking teddy bears, but some lovely, lovely writing:
"There was much to be said for autumn--with an occasional sweet reminder of spring, a sudden memory which brought the scent of its flowers into the present, yet left you undisturbed."
It's a shame these stories aren't more widely read.
I admit, I was a little wary to begin with. Besides the glaring absence of talking animals, the book opens with a story about a coquettish, young socialite. (I've nothing against them, but one gets tired of reading the same narrative over, and over, and over again). Thankfully, he moved on to other subjects, and you know what? They were delightful, thought-provoking, and startlingly relevant. No talking teddy bears, but some lovely, lovely writing:
"There was much to be said for autumn--with an occasional sweet reminder of spring, a sudden memory which brought the scent of its flowers into the present, yet left you undisturbed."
It's a shame these stories aren't more widely read.
January 8, 2024
I love A.A. Milne. He writes with simplicity and grace and humour. I’d enjoy re-reading any or all of the thirteen short stories in this collection.
My favourites were:
The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater - a dry comic description of a man who does not like his wife.
A Rattling Good Yarn - a pretentious literary critic gets his comeuppance.
The Prettiest Girl in the Room - a sweet story about a woman who is thankful for her husband.
Before the Flood - a humorous, yet touching account of Noah’s flood and the wobbly, uncertain men and women God chooses to do his will.
The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens - a hilarious farce told through a series of letters about a borrowed and unreturned book. I especially like how Milne portrays Brian Haverhill plotting with his wife about how to treat the Winters family.
Every single story captured my interest and contained a few laugh-out-loud lines, like the following:
My favourites were:
The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater - a dry comic description of a man who does not like his wife.
A Rattling Good Yarn - a pretentious literary critic gets his comeuppance.
The Prettiest Girl in the Room - a sweet story about a woman who is thankful for her husband.
Before the Flood - a humorous, yet touching account of Noah’s flood and the wobbly, uncertain men and women God chooses to do his will.
The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens - a hilarious farce told through a series of letters about a borrowed and unreturned book. I especially like how Milne portrays Brian Haverhill plotting with his wife about how to treat the Winters family.
“Just to get your values right before you come back to me: It is the Haverhills who are cutting the Winterses, and make no mistake about it. I enclose his foul letter. From now on no grovelling. Just a delicate raising of the eyebrows when you meet him, expressing surprise that the authorities have done nothing and he is still about.”
Every single story captured my interest and contained a few laugh-out-loud lines, like the following:
“It is one of the advantages of lunch that it rarely leads to an unpremeditated proposal of marriage.”
“I have a Father and a Mother, as so often happens to young people”
“I think I shall put some dots here… Because Mr Anderson’s real name was John Luton. And he strangled his wife…”
“It is true, of course, that my story to Claudine would deviate (or seem to the self-righteous so to do) from the strictest accuracy. Doubtless the Duke of Wellington was condemned by such people for misleading the enemy by a feint on this or that wing. I venture to think that our reputations will not suffer."
January 29, 2025
Better Than That Pooh.
🖊 Thankfully, I was able to read these A.A. Milne short stories, because when I started reading his Winnie-the-Pooh works, I nearly threw the book out the window, aiming for the fiery dumpster. He wrote the following stories well, maturely, and cleverly (unlike Pooh). The following are my reviews:
CONTENTS
➪A Table Near the Band:
➪The Prettiest Girl in the Room:
➪A Man Greatly Beloved: An annoying and precocious little girl tries to get a church party going with a séance, all because she likes a mysterious new neighbor. 📺 1957 “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” television episode version. ★☆☆☆☆
➪The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens:
➪Christmas Party: ℳℯ𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈！
➪The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater: A henpecked husband is sick of his harpy wife, and he gets lost in the fantasy of South Seas gal, Lalage. Through “her” ideas, he tries to take care of his problem, thereby living in the happiness of Lalage. 📺 1957 “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” television episode version. ★★★★☆
➪The River:
➪Murder at Eleven:
➪A Rattling Good Yarn:
➪Portrait of Lydia:
➪The Wibberly Touch:
➪Before the Flood:
➪The Balcony:
📕Published in 1950.
જ⁀🔵 The e-book version of this collection of shorts can be found at Internet Archive.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
🖊 Thankfully, I was able to read these A.A. Milne short stories, because when I started reading his Winnie-the-Pooh works, I nearly threw the book out the window, aiming for the fiery dumpster. He wrote the following stories well, maturely, and cleverly (unlike Pooh). The following are my reviews:
CONTENTS
➪A Table Near the Band:
➪The Prettiest Girl in the Room:
➪A Man Greatly Beloved: An annoying and precocious little girl tries to get a church party going with a séance, all because she likes a mysterious new neighbor. 📺 1957 “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” television episode version. ★☆☆☆☆
➪The Rise and Fall of Mortimer Scrivens:
➪Christmas Party: ℳℯ𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈！
➪The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater: A henpecked husband is sick of his harpy wife, and he gets lost in the fantasy of South Seas gal, Lalage. Through “her” ideas, he tries to take care of his problem, thereby living in the happiness of Lalage. 📺 1957 “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” television episode version. ★★★★☆
➪The River:
➪Murder at Eleven:
➪A Rattling Good Yarn:
➪Portrait of Lydia:
➪The Wibberly Touch:
➪Before the Flood:
➪The Balcony:
📕Published in 1950.
જ⁀🔵 The e-book version of this collection of shorts can be found at Internet Archive.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎
June 15, 2024
Four stars – in parts. A rather (and sadly) typical A.A. Milne book. The disappointing thing about Milne is that I seem to have started with one of his best books – The Holiday Round – which was also one of his earliest. And ever since then, with a few exceptions, it has been a gradual decline, the later books (post-Winnie-the-Pooh) being the most disappointing. And the saddest thing is that the defects (as I see them) could have been so easily eradicated. Expunging the needless swearing and a few irreverent passages and his later books could have been up there with the best of his earlier writings, a real pleasure to read, entertaining and clean and innocent. But the swearing, and the mockery or cynicism regarding Christianity, really seem to embitter some of his later writings. This book is a collection of short stories and for the most part they are very enjoyable, but really let down towards the end with his mocking re-telling of the story of Noah's Ark.
August 18, 2017
Еще одна великолепная грань мастерства известного автора. Короткие рассказы с великолепными нотками тонкого английского юмора. Интересная структура произведений: обязательно рассказ нужно дочитать до конца, где все может перевернутся.
April 10, 2019
This book baffled me in places. The stories weren't dull, or interesting but a lot of the characters I found very irritating. I finished a lot of the stories thinking 'what the hell have I just read?' I would suggest dipping in and out of this rather than reading the whole book at once.
June 15, 2017
Charming stories--some are a bit old-fashioned, but not particularly dated, and still quite entertaining.
September 15, 2019
Spiffing
Want to read
March 16, 2026Read so far:
A table by the band
The prettiest girl in the room
A man greatly beloved --3
*The rise and fall of Mortimer Scrivens (aka Offer withdrawn)
Christmas party
The three dreams of Mr. Findlater
The river
*Murder at eleven
A rattling good yarn
Portrait of Lydia --3
The Wibberley touch
Before the flood
The balcony
***
Bread upon the waters
In vino veritas --3
Nearly perfect --3
A perfectly ordinary case of blackmail (aka The dear dead past) --2
The rape of the Sherlock --1
A savage game
The wine glass (aka Once a murderer) --3
A table by the band
The prettiest girl in the room
A man greatly beloved --3
*The rise and fall of Mortimer Scrivens (aka Offer withdrawn)
Christmas party
The three dreams of Mr. Findlater
The river
*Murder at eleven
A rattling good yarn
Portrait of Lydia --3
The Wibberley touch
Before the flood
The balcony
***
Bread upon the waters
In vino veritas --3
Nearly perfect --3
A perfectly ordinary case of blackmail (aka The dear dead past) --2
The rape of the Sherlock --1
A savage game
The wine glass (aka Once a murderer) --3
January 26, 2021
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. They are of their time, but oh so charming and often with an unexpected ending. I hadn't realised that Milne had written short stories; I happened upon this book in a charity shop. I'd definitely read more of his work now, however.
April 28, 2015
Some of these short stories are really funny and original! Others, I didn't like so much. Great writing though.
Want to read
May 14, 2013Two of these stories—Findlater and Beloved—were adapted into teleplays which aired in 1957 as episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
September 18, 2013
Wonderful short stories. I'm glad I explored beyond Winnie the Pooh.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews