Lucas Holt
English 242
May 29, 2001
Helen Beatrix Potter
"It is all the same, drawing, painting, modeling, the irresistible desire to copy any beautiful object which strikes the eye. Why cannot one be content to look at it?" (Beatrix Potter) The life of Beatrix Potter is a reflection of her works, a marvelous story with a simple beginning.
Helen Beatrix Potter was born July 28, 1866 in Number Two, Bolton Gardens, Kensington Square, London. Her parents, Rupert Potter and Helen Beatrix Leech hired a governess, and a nurse to look after Beatrix. Her name had been shortened to Beatrix to avoid confusion with her mother. She lived in a large house, purchased with the vast fortunes left to her family. Ancestors from both sides had invested heavily in Lancashire cotton spinning. Rupert and Helen did not spend time with Beatrix except on holidays, and special occasions (Beatrix Potter’s Life). Occasionally, Rupert would take her to the museum, and Royal Art Gallery.
Beatrix Potter found companionship at age six. Her brother, Bertram was born that year. Previously, pets kept her company including her first rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer. She sneaked Benjamin into the nursery in a paper bag. Bertram and Beatrix collected several pets including a green frog, two lizards, a tortoise, and a rabbit (Beatrix Potter’s Life). She enjoyed drawing her pets, and soon had a large collection of drawings. Several sketches of her pets made their way into her books later.
A governess looked after the children, and taught them at home. Music, and art were common in the curriculum. The nurse taught Beatrix about witches, and fairies, which later inspired some of her work.
During the summers, the Potter family would rent a home in the Scottish Highlands or in the Lake District. The children explored together, drawing woodland creatures they encountered during their travels. "At times they would even skin and dissect dead animals to further understand their skeletal structure" (Women Children’s Book Illustrators—Beatrix Potter (1866-1943). Bertram matured. His parents decided to send him to boarding school. Again, Beatrix found herself alone.
At age fifteen, Beatrix began to write in a journal. She used a cryptic code that she devised from letters, numbers, and symbols. The journal logged events dating as early as 1881. She recorded conversations with relatives, observations, and reactions to events happening in other parts of the world. Her journal begins with a conversation with her grandmother:
Grandmamma Leech was telling us today about when she came to London. She did not say the date. They came up by the stage coach because great grandfather was going to buy a new one and did not wish to come in his own. (Linder 1)
The journal continues to explain that two trips were required to bring the family safely to London, from Gorse Hall, Stalybridge. She continued to write in the journal on a regular basis until January 31, 1897. The last entry detailed a paper she planned to submit to the Linnean Society of London, on the germination of spores (Linder xxxviii). After that time, her code appeared occasionally in rough drafts of short stories. Few knew of the journal simply because she did not mention it to friends or family.
In 1952, Leslie Linder learned of her journal, and decided to translate the documents. Nearly six years passed without a single character deciphered from the journal. On his last attempt, Linder noticed a Roman numeral and the year 1793 on one of the sheets. He found a reference to King Louis XVI in a children’s encyclopedia that pointed him to his first word, execution. From that single word, he had almost every vowel deciphered. He worked vigorously on sheet after sheet until he had deciphered the entire journal.
Potter’s early writings were relatively easy to read, with large print and carefully shaped characters. As time progressed, she began to write carelessly, and with small print. Linder states, "In an extreme case, a single sheet measuring 8 inches by 6 ½ inches contained over fifteen hundred words on the one side only" (Linder xxxviii). The journal proved to be a great wealth of information about Potter’s teenage years, much of which spent at home or in a museum.
At age twelve, Rupert hired Miss Cameron as a drawing teacher for Beatrix. They explored art for five years (The Illustrators Project: Helen Beatrix Potter). During this time, Beatrix learned freehand, model, perspective and watercolor painting. Later, at age fifteen she attended a course at the Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education. "She received an Art Student’s Certificate of Second Grade for Freehand Drawing, Practical Geometry, Linear Perspective and Model Drawing" (qtd. The Illustrators Project: Helen Beatrix Potter). She also had lessons on oil and figure painting, which she disliked a great deal.
J. E. Millas, a contemporary artist, was a family friend of the Potter’s. He encouraged Beatrix to explore the world around her. Like Beatrix, Bertram had talent with art as well. He worked with art until his death at age forty-six (The Illustrators Project: Helen Beatrix Potter). Her mother was a watercolorist in her youth, and Rupert had decorated the house with pieces he had purchased including works by Randolph Caldecott (Beatrix Potter).
The Tale of Peter Rabbit began as a letter to a young child in 1893. The letter addressed to Noel Moore, the child of her former governess, detailed the adventure of a misguided rabbit. Seven years later, she decided that the letter would make into an excellent book for children. Potter contacted Noel to borrow the letter. She copied it into an exercise book, making slight changes as she went. Six publishers rejected the work (Beatrix Potter’s Life). Beatrix decided to publish the book herself. Two hundred and fifty copies were printed and sold in a few months time. Even Conan Doyle had purchased a copy for his children (Beatrix Potter). She contacted Fredrick Warne, one of the publishers that had rejected her, and convinced him to publish the book. Fredrick Warne & Co. published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, at the cost of one shilling.
In 1903, two more books were published including The Tale of Squire Nutkin, and The Tailor of Gloucester. She grew attached to Norman Warne, the youngest son of Fredrick Warne, whom she had contact with during the publication of her most recent volumes (Beatrix Potter’s Life). Beatrix accepted Norman’s wedding proposal in the summer of 1905. Norman unexpectedly died of Leukemia less than a month later. Potter, deeply upset by the loss, decided to purchase a farm in Sawrey named Hill Top Farm. She purchased the farm with income from the sale of her books. Her parents thought it was an investment, not realizing that she longed to live there later in her life. She continued to write books. The income paid for repairs to the farm, and later allowed her to purchase more land.
Beatrix Potter used pencil or pen to create sketches for her books. She added watercolor to her pieces, and only used pen when necessary for outlining. Occasionally she would use oil paint to touch up some of her works. She gave rough copies of her books to children. This allowed her to test out the book before she published it.
During a land purchase, she met Mr. William Heelis, the solicitor that drew up the contract for Castle Farm. They became close friends, and he proposed in 1912 (Beatrix Potter). Beatrix became ill with pneumonia. Rupert argued with her about the proposal, as she wanted to marry a country solicitor. Bertram came home during this time and informed the family that he had been married for nearly twelve years. Beatrix found strength in her brother’s words, and married Heelis at age forty-six. Her last book was published around the same time in 1913. Beatrix finally left home to start a new life with her husband at Castle Cottage, Sawrey.
Potter died in 1943, leaving 4000 acres of land to the National Trust. The land was located in the Lake District, and allowed the area to be preserved for future generations (Beatrix Potter). Her husband, William died two years later. The proceeds and rights to her books went to Fredrick Warne & Co. after her death. Hill Top, part of the National Trust, now displays some of her artwork, and personal belongings. It is open to the public during the summer months.
Certainly, Beatrix Potter helped to shape the children’s literature movement with beautiful watercolor illustrations. Her gifts to the world extend past her famous story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, to include a gracious donation of land to the National Trust in England. Her stories bring smiles to children’s faces to this day.
Works Cited
"Beatrix Potter’s Life." Beatrix Potter’s Life & Art. 1997. 25 May 2001
<http://www.peterrabbit.co.uk/templates/biography/printresource..cfm>.
Linder, Leslie. The Journal of Beatrix Potter. London: Frederick Warne & CO. LTD, 1966.
Ortakales, Denise. "Beatrix Potter." Women Children’s Book Illustrators. 12 July 2000. 25 May
2001 <http://homepage.fcgnetworks.net/tortakales/Illustrators/Potter.html>.
Turney, Sayre G., Michelle Frisque, Beth Kean, Elizabeth T. Mahoney. "The Illustrators Project:
Helen Beatrix Potter." Elizabeth Nesbitt Room Illustrators Project. 25 May 2001