Beatrix Potter: The Rest of the Story

Beatrix and her pet rabbit, Peter.

This week we’re going to complete the story of Beatrix Potter’s amazing life. When we left her, she was happily publishing books with great success, and she had found a true friend in her publisher, Mr. Norman Warne.

By the way...

I've updated the "About" page.  Just in case you're interested.

Also, I'll take this opportunity to remind you that I'd love any feedback and ideas you have for the Valiant Woman Project!  Drop me a comment!

Wishing you all a grace-filled Lent!

Beatrix Potter: A Life of Resourcefulness, Perseverance, and Love

I’m sure you’ll all familiar with Beatrix Potter’s classic children’s stories with their delightful illustrations. You may even own some of the Peter Rabbit Wedgwood dishes. If you’ve seen the 2006 movie Miss Potter, then you’re familiar with the role she played in preserving the countryside of the Lake District. But did you know that she was also an amateur mycologist (that’s mushroom and fungi scientist) and that she helped saved the Herdwick sheep from extinction? Beatrix Potter lived a life full of activity, using her imagination and creativity when necessary. She never let obstacles or difficulties discourage her, and instead she would channel her energies toward another goal. Throughout it all, her life was full of love—for the natural world, for her family, for her work, and finally for her husband.

A Woman of Great Faith and Courage

Did you ever wonder why at a Traditional Mass the altar boys hold up the priest’s chasuble during the consecration at the elevation of the host and chalice?  This practice would have originated out of necessity because the chasuble was formerly made of heavily embroidered and stiff material. Later the pattern and material used for the vestments changed, but the practice remained because it had begun to be associated with one of Christ’s miracles from the Gospels.

Margaret Hale: Compassion in North and South

A long time ago we talked about Molly Gibson, the heroine of Wives and Daughters, one of my favorite books.  It’s high time we visit that other literary masterpiece by Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell—North and South. If you are unfamiliar with this novel, I highly recommend it. (YouTube has multiple LibriVox recordings of the book as well as the amazing BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage, which I can't recommend highly enough!) North and South is the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman whose clergyman father uproots the family from their idyllic country home in southern England and takes them north to Milton, a smoky, dirty, bustling manufacturing town. One of the first people she meets there is Mr. Thornton, a factory owner whose manners are much rougher than what Margaret has been accustomed to while living in London. In Milton, Margaret’s pride is transformed into humility as she faces many trials and becomes well-acquainted with loss. But in this post we’re going to focus on Margaret’s compassion which inspires her to help and protect those she loves, and which inspires Mr. Thornton to find his own humanity.

N.B. I realize that this work may not be familiar to you all, so in an effort not to spoil any of the story, some of the details will be purposefully vague.