Today is Beatrix Potter Day and the 150th anniversary of her birth. Potter was born in Kensington, London in 1866.  Here father, a lawyer by trade, and her mother were both artistic.  Their talents rubbed off on Beatrix.

 

While her brother was in boarding school, Potter spent a lot of time alone.  She had little social contact with other children her own age and began creating her own stories based on animals.  She also spent many hours drawing them.  In time, she also became interested in natural history and drew flowers and fungi.

 

 

 

In her twenties, Potter, started looking for a publisher for her stories and drawings. At first, she was unsuccessful but persevered. In 1902, when she was thirty-six, Frederick Warne and Company bought Peter Rabbit. The publisher insisted the drawings be in color and Potter insisted the book be kept short in length. She wanted the book to be easy for children to hold. By the end of the year, 28,000 copies were in print. Using her good business sense, in 1903 Potter patented a Peter Rabbit doll.

 

 

 

 

 

During her life time Potter wrote 23 books.  The best known titles are:

• 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)

 

A film entitled Miss Potter starring Renee Zellwege was released in 2007.

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