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.
Beatrix Potter lived during the Victorian era, and it had a great influence on her childhood, education, and interests and pursuits in later years. As such, it may be helpful to take a brief look at those aspects of Victorian culture which played a major role in Beatrix’s life. Children born to wealthy Victorian families were raised by nannies and governesses. The boys were usually sent away to school and the girls were instructed at home by private tutors. (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were actually unusual Victorian parents because they spent as much time with their children as possible!)

One of Beatrix's paintings from when she was a child.

 The Victorian Era was a time of relative peace and prosperity in England, and wealthy Victorians needed to find things to do to fill their days of leisure. One option was to spend their time helping out the lower classes, so many women especially became involved in philanthropic societies. Hobbies such as art, photography, and the study of natural science, especially botany, were increasingly popular. Children’s literature was a new industry that emerged during this time, since compulsory education laws resulted in more children being able to read, and because of stricter child labor laws, children also had the time to read. As tourism throughout England was increasing, so was concern for preserving the natural beauties of the countryside along with traditional ways of farming, country houses, and the plant and animal life. The National Trust was established in 1895 in order to do just that. (This was around the same time that President Theodore Roosevelt was establishing national parks and monuments in the United States.)

Beatrix and her parents

So now that we’ve situated her in history, let’s look at the particulars of Beatrix Potter’s life. She was born in London in 1866. Her parents were quite well off, so much so that her father, though he was technically a lawyer, never actually practiced law. Her parents were typical Victorians in almost every way, pursuing their own hobbies of photography and philanthropic work while their children, Beatrix and Bertram, lived in the nursery. One of the governesses the Potters employed was from Scotland, and her stories of fairies, goblins, and ghosts fed Beatrix’s imagination. Though her parents were not especially affectionate, they were not entirely absent from her life. Both her mother and father were amateur artists, and they encouraged this in their daughter. Rupert Potter often took Beatrix with him to visit London’s art galleries. During the summer holidays, the family would rent country houses in Scotland or the Lake District.

Purplish spot, middle left

I'd go there every summer too, if I had the choice!

Here Beatrix and Bertram discovered the wonders of the natural world, and they would spend their days roaming through the woods, collecting specimens of plants and animals to bring back home for further study under Bertram’s microscope. Their nursery quickly became a menagerie of their findings, along with various pets, both wild and domesticated. Beatrix had an artist’s eye, and even from a young age she was able to produce amazingly detailed and accurate sketches and drawings of plants and animals.

As she grew into a young woman, Beatrix turned her attention to fungi. As part of the natural world, Beatrix loved and was fascinated by them, but they also appealed to her imagination, as they seemed other-worldly in their various shapes, textures, and colors. In 1892, at the age of 26, she began painting highly detailed pictures of various kinds of mushrooms and lichens, including cross-sections, and how they appeared under a microscope.

She conducted a variety of experiments in an attempt to develop a theory of germination, and she had strong opinions on many other questions which were being debated by other mycologists in the scientific community at the time. While some fellow fungi-lovers encouraged her in this pursuit, others dismissed her findings and theories, though her drawings did become the textbook standard for many years. When Beatrix realized that she would not be embraced by the scientific community as a whole, she began to look elsewhere for her artistic and intellectual outlet. Though she was disappointed, she did not allow herself to become discouraged.

When the door of science closed to her, Beatrix looked up and saw the window of children’s literature standing open.  Beatrix was close friends with one of her former governesses, Annie Carter. When Annie married and became Mrs. Moore, Beatrix became a kind of fairy godmother to the Moore children. She never visited without bringing along one or more of her pet mice or rabbits, and she often wrote letters to her “little friends.” Occasionally, when she could think of nothing else to say in her letters, she would tell a story instead, always with illustrations.  Somewhere between Annie's suggestions and Beatrix's own inspiration, Beatrix decided to try writing, illustrating, and publishing children's stories.  She had previously sold a few of her drawings as illustrations for a book of poetry, and a few of her pictures she had made into greeting cards, so the world of printing and publishing was not entirely foreign to her. Having a book published was going to be a new challenge, but the rewards would be great, indeed.

The original Peter Rabbit story--a letter to Noel Moore.

She approached the publishing house of Frederick Warne and Co, and after an initial refusal, they accepted The Tale of Peter Rabbit for publication in 1902. It was an immediate success, and F. Warne and Co. was eager for more “bunny books.” The youngest Warne brother, Norman, acted as her editor, and they worked closely together on developing stories, such as The Tale of Two Bad Mice and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, and getting them through the publishing process.

From The Tailor of Gloucester

While Beatrix often went to the publishing office to meet with Norman, always accompanied by some servant or chaperone, they also corresponded by letters, especially when Beatrix was away with her family during the summer. Gradually, their letters became more and more familiar, and as they spent more time in each other’s company, their feelings of mutual respect and friendship began to blossom into real affection.

I’ll leave you in suspense until next week, when we’ll finish looking at the life of Beatrix Potter.