In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and became secretly engaged to her publisher, Norman Warne, causing a breach with her parents, who disapproved of his social status. Because she was a woman, her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology. She had numerous pets, and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developed a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. I just felt like putting in a plug of why she's my hero.Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.īorn into a wealthy household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. And she was instrumental in preserving the local breed of sheep. When they had both passed away, and she had inherited and earned money enough, she left the city she never liked and bought herself a farm among her beloved lakes. Next morning, the dolls just stare and smile.īeatrix lost her fiance tragically during a long engagement insisted upon by her parents, to whom she felt duty but little more. After trying and failing to eat the tiny plaster food, they commence making a general mess and then spiriting various objects down their mousehole. One of my favorite tales involved two mice ransacking a dollhouse. inhabiting this world, while engaging in people-like pursuits, keep their respective animal natures about them. The dogs, mice, badgers, frogs, 'puddleducks', hens, piglets, etc. Peter Rabbit looks and feels very bunnylike indeed after losing his shoes and coat, lost and disoriented and damp from hiding in the watering can. Apart from the fact that the animals wear clothing, the illustrations and even many of the tales are very true to life. While I was familiar with Peter Rabbit, had read Beatrix's bio, and named a goat after her, I had never read the complete tales until now. We found a complete boxed set at a used book store. This plus 21 other tiny little books of tales served as my bedtime reading this week.

Her claim to fame ended up being Peter Rabbit. She was a talented illustrator who wanted to do nature drawings for scientific journals. I will get through this whole review without using the word 'charming.'īeatrix Potter is a hero of mine.

The original peter rabbit books