Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter

Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.

Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter is an English writer and illustrator. Although she’s mostly recognised as a children’s writes, Beatrix was a fond animal lover, botanist and conservationist.

Beatrix Potter was born on 28th of July, 1866 in Kensington, London. She was born into a very rich family and was home-educated. As such she had a very limited exposure to the outside world and her communication with other children were sparse. The only comfort she found was being with her animals.

She had lots of different pets: frogs, mouse, bats, but he favourite were two rabbits. She named them Benjamin and Peter. As you might have guessed they became the main characters for the numerous books she has written. Potter developed her illustrating skills by sketching her pets.

The Potter family used to go on summer holidays to Lake District, staying up to three months at a time. So Beatrix grew to appreciate the beauty  of the nature. She was determined to preserve the countryside and as a consequence dedicated her whole life to this task. She was partially involved in creating the National Trust.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)

The first story she wrote was called “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”. Potter was at the age of thirty six when it was finally accepted by the publisher and reached the bookshelves. This book was a true success and has received a lot of positive reviews. On top of that, Beatrix Potter and the publisher Norman Warne became engaged. Unfortunately Norman became seriously ill and passed away before they could be married.

Beatrix Potter wrote 23 books in total. All were published in small format, which made them easy to read and handle by the small children.  The books were very popular, mostly because the stories were easy to read and to follow, and also that the illustrations were of great quality.

Most of the income from the book was used to purchase the land in Lake District.

Beatrix Potter died in 1943. When she died she left over 4,000 acres of land including numerous farms and cottages to the National Trust.

The  Tales:

  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
  • The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903)
  • The Tailor of Gloucester (1903)
  • The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904)
  • The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904)
  • Little Pig Robinson

    Little Pig Robinson

    The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (1905)

  • The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan (1905)
  • The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1906)
  • The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit (1906)
  • The Story of Miss Moppet (1906)
  • The Tale of Tom Kitten (1907)
  • The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908)
  • The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or, The Roly-Poly Pudding (1908)
  • The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies (1909)
  • The Tale of Ginger and Pickles (1909)
  • The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse (1910)
  • The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes (1911)
  • The Tale of Mr. Tod (1912)
  • The Tale of Pigling Bland (1913)
  • Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes (1917)
  • The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse (1918)
  • Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes (1922)
  • The Tale of Little Pig Robinson (1930)