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Beatrix Potter's Letters
Beatrix Potter achieved considerable prominence as a children's book author in her own lifetime but she always shunned publicity. However she was a prolific letter-writer and Judy Taylor presents in this book over 400 letters that reveal the observant, energetic, affectionate and humorous personality that Beatrix Potter kept hidden from her public.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
478 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
4 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Beatrix Potter
3,321 books2,136 followersHelen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.
Born into a wealthy 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 of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a 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.
Potter eventually published 24 children's books, the most recent being The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots (2016), 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 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.
Born into a wealthy 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 of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a 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.
Potter eventually published 24 children's books, the most recent being The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots (2016), 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 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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 3, 2015
"Beatrix Potter, author of one of the most famous children's books ever, achieved considerable prominence in her own lifetime but, hating publicity, she was consistently reticent about her life and work, and self-deprecating about her talent. However, she was a prolific letter-writer, and through her own words to friends, working colleagues and children we can discover the observant, energetic, affectionate and humorous personality she kept hidden from her public.
"From a collection of over 1,400 letter Judy Taylor has assembled a representative selection which documents every stage of Beatrix Potter's life. The early period in the 1890s, when Beatrix was a young woman living at home with her parents, presents an extraordinary juxtaposition of the enchanting and funny picture-letters sent to entertain child friends with highly technical letters on the subject of fungi, a subject on which she was doing serious independent research. Her mastery of both entertainment and technique came together in her children's books, however, and it was from these that she made her career. The publishing process of the early books is revealed in the almost daily correspondence with her editor, Norman Warne, to whom she eventually became engaged to be married. Norman Warne's tragic death shortly after their engagement precipitated her move from London to the more congenial surroundings of the Lake District. She became, in her own phrase, 'a woman farmer' and we have her joyful descriptions to friends of her new life, as well as frequent acerbic communications with the local bureaucracy as she battled to preserve the countryside she loved."
Her life, from 1966 to 1943, covers a period of immense social change. The restricted existence of a dutiful Victorian daughter, the background against which she first wrote the story of Peter Rabbit, was indeed 'another world' from that of war-time England where she continued to pioneer countryside conservation until her death. Judy Taylor's selection of letters, linked by her informative annotations, gives us a fascinating view of the development of the early twentieth century as well as the life story of a truly remarkable woman."
~~front flap
I don't usually read letters, but several of my fellow book lovers decided we would read this book as a group. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Having read the Beatrix Potter mysteries and seen the movie Miss Potter, I was familiar with her early life and her love for the Lake District. It was a bit frustrating that very little mention of her developing romance with Norman Warne was included -- perhaps she didn't commit anything to letters. That precedent was repeated with her husband Mr. Heelis -- he springs up from nowhere, if you have only the letters to go by.
It was interesting to get a glimpse of WWII from her point of view -- the Lake District wasn't much affected by the Blitz, but rationing and other government departments became the bane of the farmers' lives. Her decline in her last years was chronicled in her letters -- very bittersweet indeed.
This selection of her letters does give you a small window into her life, and how it evolved from dutiful Victorian daughter to independent woman farmer and landowner -- and it was an enjoyable journey indeed.
"From a collection of over 1,400 letter Judy Taylor has assembled a representative selection which documents every stage of Beatrix Potter's life. The early period in the 1890s, when Beatrix was a young woman living at home with her parents, presents an extraordinary juxtaposition of the enchanting and funny picture-letters sent to entertain child friends with highly technical letters on the subject of fungi, a subject on which she was doing serious independent research. Her mastery of both entertainment and technique came together in her children's books, however, and it was from these that she made her career. The publishing process of the early books is revealed in the almost daily correspondence with her editor, Norman Warne, to whom she eventually became engaged to be married. Norman Warne's tragic death shortly after their engagement precipitated her move from London to the more congenial surroundings of the Lake District. She became, in her own phrase, 'a woman farmer' and we have her joyful descriptions to friends of her new life, as well as frequent acerbic communications with the local bureaucracy as she battled to preserve the countryside she loved."
Her life, from 1966 to 1943, covers a period of immense social change. The restricted existence of a dutiful Victorian daughter, the background against which she first wrote the story of Peter Rabbit, was indeed 'another world' from that of war-time England where she continued to pioneer countryside conservation until her death. Judy Taylor's selection of letters, linked by her informative annotations, gives us a fascinating view of the development of the early twentieth century as well as the life story of a truly remarkable woman."
~~front flap
I don't usually read letters, but several of my fellow book lovers decided we would read this book as a group. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Having read the Beatrix Potter mysteries and seen the movie Miss Potter, I was familiar with her early life and her love for the Lake District. It was a bit frustrating that very little mention of her developing romance with Norman Warne was included -- perhaps she didn't commit anything to letters. That precedent was repeated with her husband Mr. Heelis -- he springs up from nowhere, if you have only the letters to go by.
It was interesting to get a glimpse of WWII from her point of view -- the Lake District wasn't much affected by the Blitz, but rationing and other government departments became the bane of the farmers' lives. Her decline in her last years was chronicled in her letters -- very bittersweet indeed.
This selection of her letters does give you a small window into her life, and how it evolved from dutiful Victorian daughter to independent woman farmer and landowner -- and it was an enjoyable journey indeed.
December 27, 2024
Potter was a remarkably generous correspondent, especially to children. Her responses to fan mail often include little sketches and “updates” on the characters from her books. Quite unexpectedly, I found her correspondence with publishers to be most interesting.
January 26, 2020
This book made me feel nostalgic and made me want to spend more time sketching.
I loved the letters in the beginning that showed her interest in fungi. I was hoping for more of that so I guess I'll continue to look for the right book.
The process of writing a book seemed very tedious but on worth it!
I loved the letters in the beginning that showed her interest in fungi. I was hoping for more of that so I guess I'll continue to look for the right book.
The process of writing a book seemed very tedious but on worth it!
May 3, 2016
As we plan our trip to Hill Top next Spring I just wanted to get a real dose of all things Beatrix. Very interesting.
February 11, 2024
Nothing like finding out your favorite childhood story became so blasé to the writer.
December 6, 2008
The story of Beatrix Potter, the business woman, farmer, environmentalist, woman of independent means is a fascinating one. Yes, she wrote the wonderful story about the little bunny and quite a few more wonderful stories. She also grew up in a stifling Victorian home in which she was allowed only one choice in life: the person whom she would marry. Well, almost. She turned down the suitable choices presented to her and instead chose to marry her publisher. He was considered unsuitable by her parents because he was "in trade" and below her station in society. Beatrix' letters document all of the goings on: her business dealings in the publishing world, her marriage, the difficulties with her mother and her later life as a conservationist in the Lake District of England. Potter was a woman who knew what she wanted, used the magnificent talent that she possessed and made the most of her life in spite of trying circumstances.
June 6, 2012
Beatrix Potter was a magnificent children's story teller and the books passed down through generations are still loved today. It was very revealing of her life reading her letters.
June 3, 2015
Incredibly interesting. Read 3/4 of the book and skimmed the rest. Wonderful woman.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews