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Over the Hills and Far Away: The Life of Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's bestselling, most cherished authors of children's literature whose books have enchanted generations for over a hundred years. Yet how she achieved this legendary status is just one of several stories of her remarkable and surprising life. Inspired by her twenty-three "tales," Matthew Dennison takes a selection of quotations from Potter's stories and uses them to explore her multifaceted life and repressed Victorian daughter; thwarted lover; artistic genius; formidable countrywoman. They chart her transformation from a young girl with a love of animals and fairy tales into a bestselling author and canny businesswoman, so deeply unusual for the Victorian era in which she grew up. This biography will delight anyone who has been touched by Beatrix Potter's work and especially for fans of her children's literature who want to know the real-life animals behind Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck, and of course, Peter Rabbit.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
55 people are currently reading
3008 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Dennison
32 books64 followersMatthew Dennison is the author of five critically acclaimed works of non-fiction, including Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West, a Book of the Year in The Times, Spectator, Independent and Observer. He is a contributor to Country Life and lives in the United Kingdom.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
March 25, 2017
As I've matured as a reader (I like that phrase so much better than as I've aged) I have come to realize how much of themselves an author puts into their writing. Could be something they saw, an incident about which they read, their pasts, upbringing, opinions on a particular matter. Most often though there is something in the case of Potter it is all. Had she had a different upbringing her wonderful stories would probably not exist.
Domineering parents, not allowed access to friends her own age, with the exception of her younger brother, her beloved pets, her love of the natural world, literature, her imagination and her art, all served to make her who she was, what she became. Throughout her life she persevered, often in ill health, failing eyesight, her parents attempts to keep her under their control, determined to have her own life. All this comes across in this book, ably chronicled and written with a great deal of respect.
There were a few things I found bothersome, at times frustrating, wish had been done differently. The skipping around chronology, I would have preferred a straightforward timeliness, but that is not this book. The second, is the constant , I think overdone, comparisons of incidents in her life compared to the characters in her
One such example, "Beatrix's own accounts were disordered, I am completely at large about the position & I filled in income tax at random'. Given her customary astutness and a financial sharpness to match that of TabithaTwitcit shopkeeping in The tale of Ginger and Pickles, it was not a position she relished. Comparisons such as these are liberally inserted throughout. Since it has been many, many years since I have read her tales, they went right over my head and only served to disrupt my mental flow.
I do intend to reread a few of her stories, now that I can apply to them an understanding of her life, but I feel I could have done this on my own, without having them consistently pointed out that me and would have delighted in the experience.
ARC from publisher.
Domineering parents, not allowed access to friends her own age, with the exception of her younger brother, her beloved pets, her love of the natural world, literature, her imagination and her art, all served to make her who she was, what she became. Throughout her life she persevered, often in ill health, failing eyesight, her parents attempts to keep her under their control, determined to have her own life. All this comes across in this book, ably chronicled and written with a great deal of respect.
There were a few things I found bothersome, at times frustrating, wish had been done differently. The skipping around chronology, I would have preferred a straightforward timeliness, but that is not this book. The second, is the constant , I think overdone, comparisons of incidents in her life compared to the characters in her
One such example, "Beatrix's own accounts were disordered, I am completely at large about the position & I filled in income tax at random'. Given her customary astutness and a financial sharpness to match that of TabithaTwitcit shopkeeping in The tale of Ginger and Pickles, it was not a position she relished. Comparisons such as these are liberally inserted throughout. Since it has been many, many years since I have read her tales, they went right over my head and only served to disrupt my mental flow.
I do intend to reread a few of her stories, now that I can apply to them an understanding of her life, but I feel I could have done this on my own, without having them consistently pointed out that me and would have delighted in the experience.
ARC from publisher.
October 17, 2022
Like most kids I was brought up on Beatrix Potter and just adored Peter Rabbit. I hadn't thought about it much as an adult until I watched Miss Potter earlier in the year and I thought it was a fantastic film.
Beatrix Potter is a fascinating woman and this book gave me further insight into her character, her ambitions and her true love of the natural world. In a lot of ways it feels like she was the David Attenborough of her time.
I knew she gave a lot of land to the National Trust but I didn't realise the full extent of her donation.
Three stars.
At the time of posting this book is available on Kindle Unlimited.
Beatrix Potter is a fascinating woman and this book gave me further insight into her character, her ambitions and her true love of the natural world. In a lot of ways it feels like she was the David Attenborough of her time.
I knew she gave a lot of land to the National Trust but I didn't realise the full extent of her donation.
Three stars.
At the time of posting this book is available on Kindle Unlimited.
March 21, 2017
Beatrix Potter's "little books" are much beloved, and her paintings of little animals in human clothing are universally known.
Matthew Dennison's book Over the Hills and Far Away is not a typical biography; its focus is on how Potter's life is revealed through her stories and illustrations. Some aspects of her life are just hinted at, such as her endeavor to publish her study of fungi. Dennison identifies the inspiration for Potter's characters and landscapes. She was a stickler for realism, painting from life.
Potter was born on July 28, 1866, to a gentile, conformist, Unitarian London family. She hated London but adored the countryside visits to her grandparents and the family's summer homes.
Beatrix grew up lonely and found solace in reading and in the companionship of the small, wild animals who inspired her early art. An intelligent girl, she was often bored in London and came alive when roaming the countryside with her brother.
Her parents were content for Beatrix to remain a child. They did nothing to promote her marriageability nor did they support her interests and talents. She became nervous and unhappy and was often ill, which suited her mother. Her claustrophobic, limited life is a sad example of how fettered women were in the late 19thc. She remained a dependent, lonely, and unhappy child well into adulthood.
Publishing her books offered Potter a sense of accomplishment, identity, and independence. At age thirty-eight she was still living at home with her mice and walking her rabbit on a leash. But she had improved in health, had a personal income, and even fell in love with her publisher. Sadly, he died of lymphatic leukemia before they married.
Potter bought Hill Top farm three months later. She had no experience farming or gardening or in home ownership but loved the challenge. She still had to care for her aging parents and did not live at the farm full time. The cottage served as backgrounds to some of her tales.
In 1913 she did marry; William Heelis shared her interests in sheep breeding and farming. Potter was now wealthy and happily married. Her eyesight was poor and she kept finding excuses to write another book. Potter died in 1943, and William in 1945. She left over 4,000 acres to the National Trust including 15 farms and 5,000 pounds.
Over the Hills and Far Away style is cozy and conversational, offering stories as they are related as opposed to following a strict timeline. The book offers an understanding of Potter's emotional life and how her life influenced her art.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Matthew Dennison's book Over the Hills and Far Away is not a typical biography; its focus is on how Potter's life is revealed through her stories and illustrations. Some aspects of her life are just hinted at, such as her endeavor to publish her study of fungi. Dennison identifies the inspiration for Potter's characters and landscapes. She was a stickler for realism, painting from life.
Potter was born on July 28, 1866, to a gentile, conformist, Unitarian London family. She hated London but adored the countryside visits to her grandparents and the family's summer homes.
Beatrix grew up lonely and found solace in reading and in the companionship of the small, wild animals who inspired her early art. An intelligent girl, she was often bored in London and came alive when roaming the countryside with her brother.
Her parents were content for Beatrix to remain a child. They did nothing to promote her marriageability nor did they support her interests and talents. She became nervous and unhappy and was often ill, which suited her mother. Her claustrophobic, limited life is a sad example of how fettered women were in the late 19thc. She remained a dependent, lonely, and unhappy child well into adulthood.
Publishing her books offered Potter a sense of accomplishment, identity, and independence. At age thirty-eight she was still living at home with her mice and walking her rabbit on a leash. But she had improved in health, had a personal income, and even fell in love with her publisher. Sadly, he died of lymphatic leukemia before they married.
Potter bought Hill Top farm three months later. She had no experience farming or gardening or in home ownership but loved the challenge. She still had to care for her aging parents and did not live at the farm full time. The cottage served as backgrounds to some of her tales.
In 1913 she did marry; William Heelis shared her interests in sheep breeding and farming. Potter was now wealthy and happily married. Her eyesight was poor and she kept finding excuses to write another book. Potter died in 1943, and William in 1945. She left over 4,000 acres to the National Trust including 15 farms and 5,000 pounds.
Over the Hills and Far Away style is cozy and conversational, offering stories as they are related as opposed to following a strict timeline. The book offers an understanding of Potter's emotional life and how her life influenced her art.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
July 12, 2017
A much treasured book on my to read again shelf.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
May 15, 2019
This is a concise, straightforward account of Beatrix Potter's life. I would have enjoyed it more had I read Beatrix Potter's "little books" first. Since I'm not very familiar with her stories, reading about the origins of characters and scenes in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck or The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher is not as fascinating as it should be. That's my fault. And now I want to read her books more than ever!
May 9, 2023
A bit dry and I struggled to get thru it. Maybe I’m just not used to biography’s like I used to be? Beatrix was a fascinating woman though so I finished because it was increasingly more interesting as I got thru it.
December 2, 2024
This was a very interesting look into Potter’s life! The biggest point against it is the fact that it’s very nonlinear, and listening to this on audio is very difficult bc I got so lost lol. But I have a new appreciation for Potter and will look at her “small picture books” even more fondly.
June 27, 2023
Having not read many biographies yet, this one was quite enjoyable once I got into it. I wished the book was a bit longer, but it also satisfied my questions about Beatrix Potter and her life well enough.
This book is easier to read for people already familiar with Beatrix Potter's works and if you've seen the Miss Potter movie.
In the beginning of the book, a Bertram was mentioned and I had to guess he was her brother because it never was said unless I just missed it somewhere. After finishing the book I went back to the beginning to try to find a mention that Bertram was her brother but I couldn't find one, he's just tossed into the book without introduction, though later there's a picture of her and I assume Bertrand together as children. Every now and then he is briefly mentioned, though I never got the sense that I understood what sort of person he was.
The real excitement of this book was the exploration of Beatrix being exposed to folklore as a child which must have influenced her writing, and I especially got interested when we got to the part of the book where Beatrix began writing her "rabbit books" when she was 27 and still single. She wrote them as letters to children in the beginning.
Reading this book made me want to read more biographies. Next stop, possibly a J M Barrie biography.
This book is easier to read for people already familiar with Beatrix Potter's works and if you've seen the Miss Potter movie.
In the beginning of the book, a Bertram was mentioned and I had to guess he was her brother because it never was said unless I just missed it somewhere. After finishing the book I went back to the beginning to try to find a mention that Bertram was her brother but I couldn't find one, he's just tossed into the book without introduction, though later there's a picture of her and I assume Bertrand together as children. Every now and then he is briefly mentioned, though I never got the sense that I understood what sort of person he was.
The real excitement of this book was the exploration of Beatrix being exposed to folklore as a child which must have influenced her writing, and I especially got interested when we got to the part of the book where Beatrix began writing her "rabbit books" when she was 27 and still single. She wrote them as letters to children in the beginning.
Reading this book made me want to read more biographies. Next stop, possibly a J M Barrie biography.
May 16, 2024
This is not an exciting story, but I found it very interesting. When Beatrix Potter was young she had no companions of her own age and was not sent to school, being educated at home by a governess. I can’t imagine the boredom of such a life to an intelligent child. She painted and drew the nature around her almost obsessively, studying lichens and fossils on her own, then insects and fungi.
A young lady of her class (upper middle) was expected to marry and produce heirs. How could she do this if she was never introduced to any suitable males? In fact she was engaged once, but her fiancé died shortly before the planned wedding. Eventually she did marry at the age of 47. Beatrix did care for both her parents until they died, as a dutiful daughter was expected to, but she also self-published her first book about Peter Rabbit, bought a farm in the Lake District from the profit of her books and became a well respected breeder of the local Herdwick sheep. Over the years she increased her land ownership from one small farm to more than 4,000 acres, which were donated to the National Trust on her death.
A fascinating and accomplished lady!
A young lady of her class (upper middle) was expected to marry and produce heirs. How could she do this if she was never introduced to any suitable males? In fact she was engaged once, but her fiancé died shortly before the planned wedding. Eventually she did marry at the age of 47. Beatrix did care for both her parents until they died, as a dutiful daughter was expected to, but she also self-published her first book about Peter Rabbit, bought a farm in the Lake District from the profit of her books and became a well respected breeder of the local Herdwick sheep. Over the years she increased her land ownership from one small farm to more than 4,000 acres, which were donated to the National Trust on her death.
A fascinating and accomplished lady!
March 5, 2018
I was so excited to read this book because I love Beatrix Potter, but it was such a depressing, downer of a book. The first 2/3 of the book are basically about how Beatrix's parents were very odd and didn't allow her to have friends or possible suitors, but that helped her focus on her pets and drawing which obviously led to her Peter Rabbit and other animal stories. But, her life sounded so sad and depressing and she had to really fight her parents when she was in her 30's and 40's to buy property and publish her books. She did finally marry when she was 45, but was still expected to care for her aging parents. Just a very sad and depressing book. I liked Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life by Marta McDowell MUCH better. I would NOT recommend this one. I am a huge Beatrix Potter fan and I could barely make myself keep reading this one.
March 31, 2019
A biography of Beatrix Potter Heelis, author of the “little books” we all loved as children. Most of the book is centred around her childhood and life before marriage and the time during most of her publishing. I feel however the most interesting part of her life was after she moved to the Lake District when she began saving farms and properties from developers and began rehabilitating the herd of Herdwick sheep she acquired with a property. I would go so far as to say without her efforts the Lake District would never have remained the beautiful place it is today. An interesting read.
October 24, 2022
Probably the most readable bio of Potter on the market, this takes a deep dive into Potter's childhood, then glosses over some of the later years with startling speed, but I learned things about her father I didn't know, and at times couldn't put this down, so I'm considering it a win. An easier read than the Linda Lear for anyone interested, but lacking the oft-referenced letters.
July 30, 2017
Quotations from Beatrix Potter's tales are used to highlight various aspects of Potter's life. Plus, the hardcover - with its dustjacket, illustrations, and endpapers - would appeal to Potter's keen sense of design.
August 24, 2022
Beatrix Potter is fascinating, but this book is very unevenly written. It was as though the author couldn't decide whether the chapters should go chronologically or by topic, so he switched back in forth making the book hard to follow.
December 28, 2022
Informative. Nostalgic if you’re familiar with all Potter’s works. That said, it was just ok. It seemed kinda of…less than hopeful. I’m not even sure how to describe it. I’m guessing there are much better biographies of her out there…but this one is relatively short which is a plus.
May 23, 2017
Lots of facts, writing is okay but I just couldn't get into it. So sorry. Potter had a difficult life but I enjoyed the movie far better than this book in a lot less time.
July 3, 2017
Famous for her many ‘little books’ such as Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, Beatrix Potter’s life has been extensively documented. For those who don’t know where to begin I recommend this short biography. Each chapter smoothly moves through the stages in Potter’s life with frequent direct quotations from her own journals, which she kept meticulously. Dennison also parallels the characters and instances in Potter’s stories with her own life. We learn about her childhood zoo of pet animals, including reptiles and bats, and her obsession with the various species of fungi she would draw with exact detail—the love of detail which carries over into her illustrations for the little books.
At a time when young women were expected to marry, Potter’s over-protective (or perhaps slightly selfish) parents sought to keep her home as much as possible to assist with the running of the household. The children’s stories which began as letters to young friends developed into a way for her to assert her independence and earn an income of her own from which she later bought a farm in the Lake District. This biography goes wonderfully well with The Art of Beatrix Potter:Sketches, Paintings, and Illustrations by Emily Zach, recently published by Chronicle Books.
Elizabeth L. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.
September 3, 2017
Beatrix Potter had a remarkably repressed and restricted childhood and young womanhood even for that repressed and restricted time she lived in. Her social life was limited to family, and her parents seemed to have made no serious effort to find her a husband, as the custom was in those days. She was destined for the life of a Victorian spinster, waiting on and caring for her aging parents. But, though painfully shy, she was stubborn, and determined to find something to do that was all her own. She hoped to find that in science but her detailed work on mycology was rejected by the traditionally-minded old men at the British Museum. A woman scientist?! Impossible! It was only after this avenue was closed to her that she found the thing that was her own in the creation of her "little books" for children. She turned out to be an astute businesswoman as well as a talented story-teller and artist, and determinedly in control of her vision of her books and their presentation. Though she remained tied to her "duty" to her parents, she became financially independent and able to use her money as she wished, buying her own house in the Lake District, and eventually several farms there, and eventually marrying. Her parents didn't approve, especially of the marriage, but seem to have become resigned to it, perhaps because Beatrix continued to live with them for most of the year. Only after her father's death could she live full-time in her own home with her husband, with her mother established in a house nearby. Dennison's biography focuses on Potter's inner, psychological, life and development, and her determination to do something that was her own. I recommend reading it in tandem with Linda Lear's more extensive and detailed biography of Beatrix Potter to get the full picture.
September 6, 2019
I went to a tea about Beatrix Potter earlier this year. Her life deeply resonated with me, and I appreciated this biography to refresh my memory.
A couple of dislikes:
The punctuation was occasionally confusing and made reading certain sentences hard.
The "theme" or organization of the chapters made it a little challenging to follow BP's life chronologically.
The chapters felt occasionally long.
That being said, I love her story. I loved being reminded of the things that encouraged and strengthened me from her writing journey and growth into womanhood. If I were to be single for a long time, there would be things about her artistry and investments I would want to imitate. And I admire the fortitude of her resilience in the loss of her fiance.
A couple of dislikes:
The punctuation was occasionally confusing and made reading certain sentences hard.
The "theme" or organization of the chapters made it a little challenging to follow BP's life chronologically.
The chapters felt occasionally long.
That being said, I love her story. I loved being reminded of the things that encouraged and strengthened me from her writing journey and growth into womanhood. If I were to be single for a long time, there would be things about her artistry and investments I would want to imitate. And I admire the fortitude of her resilience in the loss of her fiance.
March 15, 2023
I really admire Beatrix Potter and wanted to learn more about her life. I love her ‘little’ books but was more intrigued by her independence, scientific way of looking at nature, work in farming, and her conservation efforts. This fit the bill, but was a rather dull read to be honest.
Read
March 2, 2024I listened to the audiobook before visiting the “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” exhibition at The Morgan Library and Museum.
I don’t remember reading these as a child. I’m sure I did.
I wish I had re-read the “little books” (23) before or while listening. There are many references to “Beatrix’ bunny books.”
Potter had a quirky, isolated childhood. What an imagination! She was a mycologist. She married at 47 in a small ceremony described as “the quietest of quiet manners.” Potter was also a preservationist and worked with the National Trust and one can visit Hill Top in the UK.
Looking forward to the exhibition!
I don’t remember reading these as a child. I’m sure I did.
I wish I had re-read the “little books” (23) before or while listening. There are many references to “Beatrix’ bunny books.”
Potter had a quirky, isolated childhood. What an imagination! She was a mycologist. She married at 47 in a small ceremony described as “the quietest of quiet manners.” Potter was also a preservationist and worked with the National Trust and one can visit Hill Top in the UK.
Looking forward to the exhibition!
May 8, 2018
A must read. As a Holocaust researcher, I really enjoyed this book. It was a different take on things. Well written.
August 4, 2019
A lovely biography of Beatrix Potter and an excellent primer for anyone interested in her life.
April 17, 2021
This biography shows that Beatrix Potter had an unusual life, charting her growth from her strict Victorian childhood to a bestselling author, property owner and businesswoman.
July 7, 2025
‘Her thirties were to become for Beatrix a decade of improvement: even her health improved’ (glimmers of hope)
March 31, 2024
A friend asked for recommendations on biographies and I realized that I hadn't read any in the recent past. That was the motivation when I just picked up this book at my local library. Surprisingly, while I had grown up with Enid Blyton, I had not heard of Beatrix Potter when I was growing up. But when my kids were young in London, Peter Rabbit and Beatrix Potter's stories were a steady staple at our home. We even visited The World Of Beatrix Potter exhibit at the Lake District. But other than the enchanting characters created by her, I did not know much about the author who wrote these beautiful stories. I loved this book.
Had it just been for the writing, I would have rated it a 3 because I wish the story had been said in a more chronological manner- there was a lot of jumping back and forth and the narration did not seem smooth. However, I loved knowing more about Beatrix - a truly remarkable woman and I will look for more opportunities to know more about her. I loved her tenacity, her astute business sense and her attention to detail. It is amazing to wonder what might have been if she had been encouraged by her parents or maybe that was the impetus behind becoming who she became. I now look upon Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck and all others with so much more clarity and appreciation.
Favorite quotes:
--"I cannot bear it see it again. How times and I have changed!- She referred to Dalguise as 'home' and dreaded the spell breaking. Homecoming, she knew, was beyond her adult self."
--"Her fondness encompassed fantasy; for Beatrix, woods were liminal areas, the margin where reality and unreality merged. She claimed that fir woods in the Lake District recalled one's childish fancies of wolves, a very striking background they would make for Grimm's Fairy Tales."
--"Beatrix's journal gives ample evidence of her unsuitedness to this role of 'angel in the house', the mid-Victorian stereotype of women as docile domestic paragons revelling in their own submission. Neither Rupert nor Helen (Beatrix's parents) was privy to Beatrix's journal, neither fully conceived her strength of will, the extent of her determination to 'do something' or achieve some measure of independence. Both were aims contrary to the self effacement and humility expected of the stay-at-home daughter."
--"She was not an instinctive polemicist. She had achieved success as the creator of children's books that avoided the over didacticism of much of her own childhood reading."
--"As a young woman Beatrix Potter wrote in her journal "There is something rather mournful in people dying without children, complete extinction". It has not been her own fate, as that evening at Gwaenynog proved, despite her childlessness."
Had it just been for the writing, I would have rated it a 3 because I wish the story had been said in a more chronological manner- there was a lot of jumping back and forth and the narration did not seem smooth. However, I loved knowing more about Beatrix - a truly remarkable woman and I will look for more opportunities to know more about her. I loved her tenacity, her astute business sense and her attention to detail. It is amazing to wonder what might have been if she had been encouraged by her parents or maybe that was the impetus behind becoming who she became. I now look upon Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck and all others with so much more clarity and appreciation.
Favorite quotes:
--"I cannot bear it see it again. How times and I have changed!- She referred to Dalguise as 'home' and dreaded the spell breaking. Homecoming, she knew, was beyond her adult self."
--"Her fondness encompassed fantasy; for Beatrix, woods were liminal areas, the margin where reality and unreality merged. She claimed that fir woods in the Lake District recalled one's childish fancies of wolves, a very striking background they would make for Grimm's Fairy Tales."
--"Beatrix's journal gives ample evidence of her unsuitedness to this role of 'angel in the house', the mid-Victorian stereotype of women as docile domestic paragons revelling in their own submission. Neither Rupert nor Helen (Beatrix's parents) was privy to Beatrix's journal, neither fully conceived her strength of will, the extent of her determination to 'do something' or achieve some measure of independence. Both were aims contrary to the self effacement and humility expected of the stay-at-home daughter."
--"She was not an instinctive polemicist. She had achieved success as the creator of children's books that avoided the over didacticism of much of her own childhood reading."
--"As a young woman Beatrix Potter wrote in her journal "There is something rather mournful in people dying without children, complete extinction". It has not been her own fate, as that evening at Gwaenynog proved, despite her childlessness."
February 16, 2019
Some interesting information in this book but I found the way the author frequently jumped around with dates rather disconcerting.
February 20, 2017
The cover’s watercolor catches one’s eye bringing forth remembrances of illustrations from Beatrix Potter tales. As readers turn pages, they discover not a fairy tale but the life of a writer of works that have captivated children all over the world. Unlike the colorful and whimsical world Potter drew, her childhood home where she lived half her life was not a place of warmth and adventure. Spartan at best, she was confined and often left alone to amuse herself. It is during this time that her relationship with her father depended upon a love of art, sketching, and nature. Private teachers encouraged her interest in art and allowed her time to draw. Her attention to detail came from observing nature rather an overactive imagination. Letters to her governess’s sick children ultimately became the basis for The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Her private printing of the book established her career as a writer and illustrator. She remained alone until her marriage to William Heelis at age 47. Her wealth from the books allowed her to accumulate farmland and protect it from developers. At her death, more than 4,000 acres was bequest to the National Trust along with an endowment. Although she never has children of her own, her tales brought comfort to many a child at bedtime. Her donation to the National Trust remains a living testament to her love of nature. The author relied heavily on the Journal of Beatrix Potter to write this biography. Extensive chapter notes credit source material used in this academic portrayal. His depictions show the compassion, sadness, and love as seen through Potter’s eyes. Dennison accurately reflects society’s expectations for a female in that class during the late 1880 through early 1940s. He also included an author note, bibliography, list of illustrations, and index.
I received this book free through Net Galley. Although encouraged as a courtesy to provide feedback to the publisher, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I received this book free through Net Galley. Although encouraged as a courtesy to provide feedback to the publisher, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
September 9, 2022
I wanted to like this book so much, but to be honest I got lost more times than I can count. The author jumped around Beatrix' life, and I could not pick out the stream which was followed. Was it because I listened instead of read? Maybe, but it wasn't something I thought would need my full focus and attention.
August 20, 2017
A very detailed and I suspect accurate portrayal of the life of Beatrix Potter. Another reviewer commented that the text jumps decades etc forward and backward at random. This I found true but not alarmingly so. After all our daily thought patterns do this regularly. Very easy and worthwhile reading for her legion of fans.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews