The life of Beatrix Potter

The children's author and illustrator who created Peter Rabbit

A 

Beatrix Potter is one of the best-selling children's authors of all time. Her popular seriesof books that includes The Tale of Peter Rabbit was first published over one hundredyears ago, and has never been out of print. Generations of children have enjoyed hermany stories and illustrations, all of which celebrate the English lifestyle and ruralandscape through the adventures of animals.

B 

Born to a comfortable middle-class family in London in 1866, Potter spent much of herearly life in her own company. She was educated in her parents' house by a governessand rarely saw her brother Bertram, who was sent to boarding school. Having littlesocial contact with children of her own age, Potter began to be drawn into her own worldof writing. When Beatrix was 15, she began to keep a diary written in a secret code ofher own invention, Even Beatrix herself, when she read back over it in later life, found itdifficult to understand. lt was not until 15 years after her death that the code wascracked. To the outside world Beatrix appeared a shy and reserved person, but in herdiary she was able to express herself openly, and she was critical of the paintings of anumber of artists of the day.

C 

Potter was a naturally gifted artist, and with the aid of some art lessons she also learntthe technical side of drawing.During her childhood, she looked after many animals,such as rabbits, frogs, and even bats. She drew these animals throughout herchildhood, gradually improving the standard of her work by sketching in museums. Shewas also interested in natural history. She would spend many hours drawing wildlifesuch as fungi and flowers, and at one time she had an ambition to develop this scientificinterest. An uncle tried to help her become a student at the Royal Botanic Gardens atKew in London, but she was rejected because of her gender. Nevertheless, sheachieved a measure of respect from the scientific establishment for her illustrations andcontribution to mycology, the study of fungi.

D 

When Potter was in her early 20s, her parents tried to arrange a partner for her tomarry. Many likely suitors were found; however, Potter turned them all down. She was afiercely independent woman, and she disliked the idea of being tied down to a domesticlife that, at that time, consisted mostly of staying at home and bringing up children.Thus, unusually for British women of those times, she remained single and lived in herparents' home.

E 

For several years, Potter tried to get her first children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit.published. Her initial attempts proved unsuccessful, but she persevered and eventuallythe book was accepted for publication by Frederick Warne & Company. The book finallycame out in 1902, when Potter was 36, but the publishers did not expect it would sellmany copies. In fact, the project was given to the youngest brother in the familycompany, Norman Warne, for his first project as a kind of test. Luckily, he proved to bea good choice as he warmed to both the book and Potter. He was determined to make asuccess of the book and developed a good working relationship with Potter as theypored over the individual details of the book. lt was Norman who insisted that eachdrawing would be in colour. Potter insisted that the book remain small so that it wouldbe easy for children to hold, and by the end of the year, 28,000 copies were in print.The relationship between Warne and Potter blossomed, and eventually they becameengaged.However, Potter's parents were unhappy about this because of hisoccupation. They eventually relented, but insisted the couple live apart for six months togive Potter time to change her mind. Tragically, before the wedding could take place,Warne developed pernicious anaemia, a blood disease, and passed away. Potter wasdevastated and she wrote in a letter to his sister, Millie, 'He did not live long, but hefulfilled a useful, happy life. l must try to make a fresh beginning next year.'

F 

After Wame's death, Potter moved to the Lake District in northern England. in 1905 shebought a small farm there, and for the next eight years she busied herself writing morebooks, some of which were based in or around the area. She lived there for theremainder of her life, but due to failing eyesight she was forced to stop writing children'sbooks. Instead, she devoted her time to the breeding of sheep and helping with theconservation of farms in the district. Using proceeds from her very successful books andlater her inheritance, Potter was able to buy many working farms. On her death, she leftover 4.000 acres to the National Trust, an organisation which protects historicalbuildings and areas of countryside in England. lt has meant that her belovedcountryside is now accessible to many visitors.