Beatrix Potter
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{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] -->
| name = Beatrix Potter
| image = Beatrix Potter1.jpg
| caption =
| birthdate = [[28 July]] [[1866]]
| birthplace = [[Kensington]], [[London]]
| deathdate = {{Death date and age|1943|12|22|1866|7|28|df=y}}
| deathplace = [[Near and Far Sawrey|Near Sawrey]]
| occupation = [[Children's literature|Children's]] [[author]], [[illustrator]]
| genre = [[Children's literature]]
| notableworks = ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]''
}}
'''Helen Beatrix Potter''' ([[28 July]] [[1866]] – [[22 December]] [[1943]]) was an [[England|English]] [[author]] and [[illustrator]], [[mycology|mycologist]] and [[Conservation movement|conservationist]], best known for her [[Children's literature|children's books]], which featured animal characters such as [[Peter Rabbit]].
Born into a privileged household, Potter was educated by governesses, and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and through holidays in [[Scotland]] and the [[Lake District]] developed a love of landscape, flora and fauna, all which she closely observed and painted. As a young woman her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of [[mycology]]. 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. Warne died before the wedding could take place.
Potter eventually published 23 children's books, and having become financially independent of her parents, was able to buy a farm in the Lake District, which she extended with other purchases over time. In her forties she married a local solicitor, William Heelis. She became a sheep breeder and farmer while continuing to write and illustrate children's books. Potter died in 1943, and left almost all of her property to [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|The National Trust]] in order to preserve the beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers.
Potter's books continue to sell well throughout the world, in multiple languages. Her stories have been retold in various formats, including a ballet, films and in animation.
==Biography==
[[Image:Young Beatrix.jpg|thumb|left|Potter at fifteen years with her dog, Spot]]
Beatrix Potter was born in [[South Kensington]], [[London]] on [[28 July]] [[1866]]. Educated at home by a succession of governesses, she had little opportunity to mix with other children. Even Potter's younger brother, Bertram, was rarely at home; he was sent to boarding school, leaving Beatrix alone with her pet animals. She had frogs, newts, ferrets and even a pet bat. She also had two rabbits — the first was Benjamin, whom she described as "an impudent, cheeky little thing", while the second was Peter, whom she took everywhere with her, even on the occasional outings, on a little lead. Potter would watch these animals for hours on end, sketching them. Gradually the sketches became better and better, developing her talents from an early age.
Potter's father, Rupert William Potter (1832–1914), although trained as a [[barrister]], spent his days at [[gentlemen's club]]s and rarely practised law. Her mother, Helen Potter née Leech (1839–1932), the daughter of a cotton merchant, spent her time visiting or receiving visitors. The family was supported by both parents' inherited incomes.
Every summer, Rupert Potter would rent a country house; firstly Dalguise House in [[Perthshire]], [[Scotland]] for the eleven summers of 1871 to 1881,<ref>[http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/towns/townfirst1277.html "Overview of Dalguise"], ''Gazetteer for Scotland'', University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences.</ref> then later one in the English [[Lake District]]. In 1882 the family met the local vicar, [[Hardwicke Rawnsley|Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley]], who was deeply worried about the effects of industry and tourism on the Lake District. He would later found the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] in 1895, to help protect the countryside. Beatrix Potter had immediately fallen in love with the rugged mountains and dark lakes, and through Rawnsley, learnt of the importance of trying to conserve the region, something that was to stay with her for the rest of her life.
===Scientific aspirations and work on fungi===
When Potter came of age, her parents appointed her their housekeeper and discouraged any intellectual development, instead requiring her to supervise the household. From the age of 15 until she was past 30, she recorded her everyday life in journals, using her own secret [[code (cryptography)|code]] (which was not decrypted until decades after her death).
An uncle attempted to introduce her as a student at the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Royal Botanical Gardens]] at Kew, but she was rejected because she was female. Potter was later one of the first to suggest that [[lichens]] were a [[Symbiosis|symbiotic]] relationship between [[fungi]] and [[algae]].<ref>Chet Raymo, [http://www.sciencemusings.com/2006/10/sharp-and-half-sharp_29.html "The Sharp and the Half-Sharp"], ''Science Musings'' (blog of Stonehill College professor and former ''Boston Globe'' columnist, Chet Raymo), Sept. 29, 2006.</ref> As, at the time, the only way to record microscopic images was by painting them, Potter made numerous drawings of lichens and fungi. As the result of her observations, she was widely respected throughout England as an expert [[mycology|mycologist]]. She also studied [[spore]] [[germination]] and life cycles of fungi. Potter's set of detailed watercolours of fungi, numbering some 270 completed by 1901, is in the [[Armitt Library]], [[Ambleside]].
In 1897, her paper on the germination of spores was presented to the [[Linnean Society]] by her uncle Sir [[Henry Enfield Roscoe]], as women were barred from attending meetings. (In 1997, the Society issued a posthumous official apology to Potter for the way she had been treated.) The [[Royal Society]] also refused to publish at least one of her technical papers. She also lectured at the [[London School of Economics]] several times.
===Literary career===
The basis of her many projects and stories were the small animals that she smuggled into the house or observed during family holidays in [[Scotland]] and the [[Lake District]]. When she was 27 and on one such holiday in Scotland, in a letter dated 4th September 1893 she sent a story about rabbits to Noel Moore, the five year old son of her last governess. She was encouraged to publish the story so she borrowed it back in 1901 and made it into the book entitled ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]''. However she struggled to find a publisher for it and eventually had 250 copies printed privately.<ref> http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/potter/books/special_rabbit/index.html 'A Very Special Rabbit' at the Victoria and Albert Museum retrieved April 2008</ref> In October 1902 [[Frederick Warne & Co]] agreed to publish 8,000 copies in a small format, easy for a child to hold and read, having asked Beatrix to re-illustrate it in colour. It was extremely well received and by the end of the year 28,000 copies had been printed.
She followed it with ''[[The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin]]'' in 1903, that was also based on an earlier letter. Such was the popularity of these and her subsequent books that she gained an independent income from their sales. She also became secretly engaged to the publisher, [[Norman Warne]], but her parents were set against her marrying a tradesman. Their opposition to the wedding caused a breach between Beatrix and her parents. However, the wedding was not to be, for soon after the engagement, Norman fell ill of [[pernicious anemia]] and died within a few weeks. Beatrix was devastated. She wrote in a letter to his sister, Millie, "He did not live long, but he fulfilled a useful happy life. I must try to make a fresh beginning next year."<ref>[http://www.peterrabbit.com Peterrabbit.com], Frederick Warne & Co Limited 2002, retrieved Feb 2007</ref>
Potter eventually wrote 23 books, all in the same small format. Her writing efforts finally abated around 1920 due to poor eyesight. ''[[The Tale of Little Pig Robinson]]'' was published in 1930; however, the actual manuscript was one of the first to be written and far predates this publication date.<ref>{{cite book|author=Egoff, Sheila ''et al.'' (ed.)|title=Only Connect: Readings on Children's Literature|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1996}}</ref>
===Later life: the Lake District and conservation===
After Warne's death, Potter purchased [[Hill Top, Cumbria|Hill Top Farm]] in the village of [[Sawrey]], [[Cumbria]], in the Lake District.<ref name="thomson07">{{Cite journal|title=Beatrix Potter, Conservationist|journal=American Scientist|year=2007|volume=95|author=Thomson, Keith Stewart|pages=210–212|doi=10.1511/2007.65.376}}</ref> She loved the landscape, and visited the farm as often as she could, discussing the set-up with farm manager John Cannon.<ref>The National Trust, [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-places_collections/w-collections-main/w-collections-beatrix_potter/w-collections-feature_1-2.htm "The Story of Beatrix Potter"].</ref> With the steady stream of royalties from her books, she began to buy pieces of land under the guidance of local [[solicitor]] William Heelis. In 1913 at the age of 47, Potter married Heelis and moved to Hill Top Farm permanently. Some of Potter's best loved works show the Hill Top Farm farm house and the village. While the couple had no children, the farm was constantly alive with dogs, cats and even a pet hedgehog named "Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle".
On moving to the Lake District, Potter became engrossed in breeding and showing [[Herdwick sheep]].<ref name="thomson07" /> She became a respected farmer, a judge at local agricultural shows, and President of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders' Association. When Potter's parents died, she used her inheritance to buy more farms and tracts of land. After some years Potter and Heelis moved down into the village of Sawrey, and into Castle Cottage — where the local children knew her for her grumpy demeanour, and called her "Auld Mother Heelis".<ref>[[BBC]], [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A642151 "Beatrix Potter - Children's Author"], Dec. 20, 2001.</ref> Her letters of the time reflect her increasing concerns with her sheep, preservation of farmland, and World War II.<ref>''e.g.'', Jane Crowell Morse (ed.), Beatrix Potter's Americans: Selected Letters, Horn Book, Inc., 1982 </ref>
Beatrix Potter died at Castle Cottage in Sawrey on [[22 December]] [[1943]]. Her body was [[Cremation|cremated]] at [[Carleton Crematorium, Blackpool]], and her ashes were scattered in the countryside near Sawrey.<ref>Britain Unlimited, [http://www.britainunlimited.com/Biogs/Potter.htm "Beatrix Potter"].</ref>
== Subsequent events ==
In her will, Potter left almost all of her property to the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] — 4,000 acres (16 km²) of land, cottages, and 15 farms. The legacy has helped ensure that the beauty of the [[Lake District]] and the practice of [[fell farming]] remain unspoiled to this day. Her properties now lie within the [[Lake District National Park]]. The Trust's 2005 [[Swindon]] headquarters are named "Heelis" in her honour.
== Film and TV adaptations ==
In 1971, the film ''[[The Tales of Beatrix Potter]]'' directed by [[Reginald Mills]] was released. Several of the ''Tales'' were set to music and danced by the members of [[Royal Ballet, London|The Royal Ballet]] including [[Frederick Ashton]] who was also the [[choreographer]]. ''The Tale of Pigling Bland'' was turned into a musical theatrical production by Suzy Conn and was first performed on [[6 July]] [[2006]] at the Toronto Fringe Festival in [[Toronto]], [[Canada]].
In 1982 the [[BBC]] produced ''The Tale of Beatrix Potter''. This dramatisation of her life was written by [[John Hawkesworth (producer)|John Hawkesworth]] and directed by [[Bill Hayes (British director)|Bill Hayes]]. It starred [[Holly Aird]] and [[Penelope Wilton]] as the young and adult Beatrix respectively. The modern author [[Susan Wittig Albert]] publishes a series of mysteries featuring a fictionalised Beatrix Potter, focusing on the period of her life between her fiancé's death and her eventual establishment as a farmer in Sawrey, Cumbria. In December 2006 [[Penguin Books]] published ''Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature'', a new biography by Linda Lear, which emphasises Potter's scientific accomplishments both as a botanical artist and as an amateur [[mycologist]].<ref>[http://www.bpotter.com/ Beatrix Potter, A Life in Nature :: by Linda Lear<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In 1992, the [[BBC]] also produced an animated series based on the stories of Beatrix Potter called ''[[The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends]]''. It aired on the Family Channel in 1993-1995. The entire series was released individually on VHS and later released on DVD as a 2 disc set.
''[[Miss Potter]]'', a [[biopic|biographical film]] starring [[Renée Zellweger]], was released on [[29 December]] [[2006]]. It was written by [[Richard Maltby, Jr.]] and directed by [[Chris Noonan]]. The character of Norman Warne was played by [[Ewan McGregor]], while that of William Heelis was played by [[Lloyd Owen]]. Beatrix as a young girl was played by [[Lucy Boynton]].
==Partial bibliography==
*''[[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)
*''[[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 Fairy Caravan]]'' (1929)
*''[[The Tale of Little Pig Robinson]]'' (1930)
*''Wag-By-Wall'' (decorations by [[J. J. Lankes]]) (1944)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
* Judy Taylor, "Potter, (Helen) Beatrix (1866–1943)", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35584, accessed 14 Jan 2007]
* Jane Crowell Morse (ed.), ''Beatrix Potter's Americans: Selected Letters'', Horn Book, Inc., 1982
==Further reading==
* Susan Denyer, ''Beatrix Potter: At Home in the Lake District'' (2000) (biographical, plus photography of Potter's Lake District)
* Anne Stevenson Hobbs, ''Beatrix Potter: Author and Illustrator'' (2005) (ISBN 0723257000; ISBN 978-0723257004) (collection of 200 of Potter's paintings, a catalogue of the Dulwich Picture Gallery exhibition of 2005)
* Anne Stevenson Hobbs, Judy Taylor, and Joyce Whalley, ''Beatrix Potter, 1866-1943: The Artist and Her World'' (1987) (ISBN 0723235619; 978-0723235613) (a companion to the Tate Gallery Exhibition)
* Margaret Lane, ''The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography'' (2001) (ISBN 978-0723246763 ; 0723246769)
* Linda Lear, ''Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature'' (Allen Lane, 2006) (ISBN 0713995602, ISBN 978-0713995602) (biography)
* Jane Crowell Morse (ed.), Beatrix Potter's Americans: Selected Letters, Horn Book, Inc., 1982
* Beatrix Potter, ''Beatrix Potter: A Journal'' (2006) (ISBN 0723258058; ISBN 978-0723258056)
* Judy Taylor, ''Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller and Countrywoman'' (1996) (ISBN 0723241759; ISBN 978-0723241751)
===Fictional works===
* Richard Maltby, ''Miss Potter: The Novel'' (novelization of the film) (2006) (ISBN 0723258619; ISBN 978-0723258612)
* Garth Pearce, ''The Making of Miss Potter'' (2006) (ISBN 0723258635; ISBN 978-0723258636) (book about the making of the film)
* Bryan Talbot, ''[[The Tale of One Bad Rat]]'' (1996) (ISBN-10: 1-56971-127-5; ISBN-13: 978-1-56971-127-9) (A graphic novel about a teenager who runs away from an abusive home and finds solace in her love of the Beatrix Potter books and the Lake Country.)
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikisource author|Beatrix Potter}}
{{commonscat|Beatrix Potter}}
* {{gutenberg author| id=Beatrix+Potter | name=Beatrix Potter}}
*[http://www.tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25336-2604221,00.html "Beatrix Potter's tales of escape"]: a review by Nicola Shulman in the [http://www.the-tls.co.uk TLS], 21 February 2007.
*[http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/search?amode=start&author=Potter%2c%20Beatrix A list of online e-texts]
* {{WiredForBooks|judytaylor|Audio interview with Judy Taylor, biographer of Beatrix Potter. Interview by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio}}
* [http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/enroom/illustrators/potter.htm Online feature of the Information Sciences Library at the University of Pittsburgh]
*[http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/potter/index.html The world's largest collection of Potter's drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, photographs and related materials at the Victoria and Albert Museum]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Beatrix}}
[[Category:1866 births]]
[[Category:1943 deaths]]
[[Category:Beatrix Potter| ]]
[[Category:English children's writers]]
[[Category:English illustrators]]
[[Category:Children's book illustrators]]
[[Category:English Unitarians]]
[[Category:British botanists]]
[[Category:British conservationists]]
[[Category:Fabulists]]
[[Category:Scientific illustrators]]
[[Category:Women botanists]]
[[Category:People from Kensington]]
[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]
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