The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter

by Margaret Lane

Many never-before-published photographs and pictures accent an account of the creative years during which Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated her immortal Peter Rabbit books

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Childrens

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Margaret Winifred Lane (June 23, 1907 – February 14, 1994) was a British journalist, biographer and novelist, the author of more than two dozen books. She was the second wife of Francis Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon.
She was the mother of writer Selina Hastings.

Lane was highly educated, attending St. Stephen's College and St. Hugh's College, Oxford.

After university, she worked as a reporter for the Daily Express from 1928 - 1931, and then as a special correspondent for the International News Service from 1931 - 1932. While there, she interviewed the gangster Al Capone.
From 1932 - 1938, she was a journalist for the Daily Mail, where she was the UK's highest paid woman journalist at the time.

Lane wrote two biographies of Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Beatrix Potter: a Biography in 1946, and The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter in 1978.
In 1984, the BBC produced a two-part television dramatisation of Potter's life based on Lane's books.

Lane wrote more than two dozen books, including novels, travelogues, and children's books.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this lady had not been so repressed and sheltered as a child...and as an adult...I highly doubt anyone would have ever heard of Peter Rabbit

[Nikel27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

read before joining GoodReads in January 2008

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is always a pleasure to read about other authors and how they go about the craft. Beatrix's story is an unexpected pleasure.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the second biography Margaret Lane wrote about Beatrix Potter. The first, if I remember rightly, was more general, whereas this one is focussed very much on her life as an artist and storyteller - although there are some noticeable omissions (for example, absolutely no mention of her longer story, The Fairy Caravan).

It's well-written and worth reading if you don't know anything about Potter's life and are particularly interested in the development of her little books, but if you have already read Lane's earlier book, or any of the other excellent titles available, then you probably don't need this as well. While the blurb in my copy promises many illustrations that have never been previously seen, this book was published in 1978, and most of the 'new' photographs and drawings are now widely available - certainly, I didn't come across much that I didn't already recognise.

I would have rated this at 4 stars, but I do have some doubts as to Lane's accuracy. Every single book I have read about Potter states that she wanted to avoid people making a 'pilgrimage' to her burial place, so asked a trusted friend to scatter her ashes in a secret location without telling anyone about it. Yet Lane claims to know the exact location. If this is accurate, it seems odd that no one else has picked up on this information.

[Laura Hodgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book, & beautifully illustrated.