![]() The Tale of Peter Rabbit, like the Potter books that came after, were exquisitely illustrated. Once technology advanced, after the author’s death, there were film and television adaptations as well.īeatrix Potter’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell It was a year or so after the book was commercially published that she patented a Peter Rabbit doll in 1903 (actually sewing the first prototype) and created a Peter Rabbit board game.įollowing in years to come were toys, dishes, and clothing. Next, she wanted to keep the price low, just a shilling, so it would be affordable.īeatrix was savvy enough to be one of the first authors to merchandise a character. Many of that era’s books for children were enormous, heavy, ponderous affairs. There were a few touches the author insisted on that made her little book rather revolutionary for its time: She insisted that it be a small book, sized perfectly for tiny hands. Letters to Children from Beatrix Potter: The Path to Her Books It’s still one of the best-selling books of all time. Finally, in 1902, Frederick Warne & Company published it, and the rest is truly publishing history: Peter Rabbit was an instant success, reprinted endlessly,translated into 36 languages, with tens of million copies sold ever since. The following year, Beatrix published it herself, ordering 250 copies, which sold out quickly. In 1900, she sent it out to six publishers, all of whom rejected it. ![]() The simple story tells of a mischievous rabbit who becomes the bane of Mr. She returned to a tale she had created in 1893 for the son of her former governess, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The young recipients of her letters were so delighted with Beatrix’s drawings that their mother urged her friend to consider publishing them in a book. To console herself, she continued to do animal drawings, especially of mice and rabbits, and incorporated them into letters she sent to children of her acquaintances. “It is not surprising,” writes Lurie, “that during this period of her life she was often ill, suffering from faintness, rheumatic pains, and recurring depression, and fatigue.” Her botanical drawings, her discovery of unfamiliar species of fungi, and even a scientific paper she researched and wrote were spurned by the all-male bastion of the botanical community.Īnd so, Beatrix found herself, at age 30, still unmarried, still under her parents’ stifling rules, and with few prospects. These credentials didn’t help her much once she entered adulthood. “I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result,” she wrote in her journal, “and when I have a bad time come over me, it is a stronger desire than ever.” Still at loose ends by age thirtyīeatrix had some art training, including informal instruction by governesses, an oil painting teacher (though that wasn’t a preferred medium), and she even had a certificate of completion from the South Kensington Art School. Considering herself plain, she sat alone in corners when compelled to go to high society parties, preferring to attend the Natural History Museum to spend time drawing what she saw there - fossils, bugs, and taxidermied animals. She also had a gift for fantasy and soon began making up stories set in the local landscape.”īeatrix remained shy and awkward as she grew into young womanhood. “Beatrix’s watercolors of caterpillars and flowers, made at age eight and nine … show the same charm, delicacy, and accuracy of observation that were to characterize her published books. Both Beatrix and Bertram were naturally gifted artists, and they filled sketchbooks with drawings of whatever they saw. They collected plants, birds’ eggs, and insects they made pets of mice, rabbits, an owl, and a hedgehog. “The children could explore the surrounding gardens and woods and fields and streams, the village lanes and farmyards, without interference …Įverything about the countryside fascinated the Potter children. As Alison Lurie described it in Don’t Tell the Grownups: Subversive Children’s Literature: Family holidays in Scotland and the English Lake District allowed Beatrix and her brother plenty of outdoor discovery time, which they did with gusto. Shy and often rather sickly, Beatrix’s loneliness fueled her fascination with the natural world and animals. ![]() An early fascination with the natural world One of her only companions was her brother, Bertram, who was six years younger than she. As was typical for girls of her class, was educated at home by governesses. Her inspiration came from the natural world that surrounded her as a child, from which sprang an imagination that delights young readers to this day.īeatrix was the daughter of conservative upper class parents, raised in a fine South Kensington home. Some of the best known are Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, and Jemima Puddleduck. Beatrix Potter (J– December 22, 1943) was a British author and illustrator of beloved children’s books populated by animals.
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