Helen Beatrix Potter was an English children’s book author and illustrator, as well as a conservationist and nature painter. She wrote the book The Tale of Peter Rabbit which featured anthropomorphic characters. Potter was born in a Western district of London, England, called Kensington on July 28, 1866.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/472843/Beatrix-Potter Her parents were both wealthy and active in London’s social scene, frequently leaving Helen Beatrix at home with nannies. She was also home schooled and isolated from children her age, so she turned to animals for companionship and developed a love of nature. She had a fondness for drawing as a child and would often sketch her environment and her pets.

As a young woman Potter contemplated a career in mycology—the scientific study of funghi. Although she was denied admittance to school because they did not admit female students, she had a continued interested mycology and conservationism. Landscapes, nature and mushrooms became regular elements in her paintings. Potter ultimately turned to writing and illustrating books. Her first professional work, The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902.http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A642151 She married solicitor William Heelis and spent much of her later years painting in their home Hill Top Farm in the small village of Sawrey in Lancashire. She owned many pieces of property in the English countryside where she was a sheep herder. Upon her death in 1943, Potter willed Hill Top and much of her land, including her farm homes to the National Trust. http://www.beatrixpotterbooks.org/ Some of Potter’s works have been turned into animated series and inspired performances by the Royal Ballet.

In 1893, Beatrix Potter sent a letter to Noel Moore, the son of her former governess.http://potter.thefreelibrary.com/ Structured like a small book, the correspondence told the tale of Peter Rabbit and was accompanied by Potter’s illustrations of the anthropomorphic main character. Annie Carter Moore encouraged Potter to adapt the story into a book. After multiple rejections The Tale of Peter Rabbit was finally published in 1902 by Frederick Warne & Co.http://www.randolphcaldecott.org.uk/beatrix.htm Potter wrote and illustrated over 20 children’s books during her career including The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin and The Tale of Tom Kitten.http://www.puffin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000025758,00.html#BIO Peter Rabbit became the first licensed character when plush toys were produced in 1903.http://www.peterrabbit.com/potters-world-life.asp Potter’s writing output ultimately started to diminish due to her declining eye sight.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/railway/age/potter_bio.html

I have always found my own pleasure in nature and books.http://books.google.com/books?id=P8VID3P916gC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=%22Believe+there+is+a+great+power+silently+working+all+things+for+good,+behave+yourself+and+never+mind+the+rest.%22++beatrix+potter&source=bl&ots=YaUe-j96vz&sig=3cs-IxNMEJIqJCiL80MUB6Mns8M&hl=en&ei=T-PYTN_eH4OisAPJh5GYCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CEMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Beatrix Potter

Thank goodness my education was neglected and the originality was not rubbed off.http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/enroom/illustrators/potter.htm

Beatrix Potter

• 1930: The Tale of Little Pig Robinson

• 1922: Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes

• 1918: The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse

• 1917: Apple Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes

• 1913: The Tale of Pigling Bland

• 1912: The Tale of Mr. Tod

• 1910: The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes

• 1910: The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse

• 1909: The Tale of Ginger and Pickles

• 1909: The Tale of Flopsy Bunnies

• 1908: The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

• 1907: The Tale of Tom Kitten

• 1906: The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit

• 1906: The Story of Miss Moppet

• 1906: The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

• 1905: The Tale of Pie and the Patty-Pan

• 1905: The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle

• 1904: The Tale of Two Bad Mice

• 1904: The Tailor of Glouchester

• 1903: The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin

• 1902: The Tale of Peter Rabbit