Читать книгу We Can Do Anything: From sports to innovation, art to politics, meet over 200 women who got there first - Chuck Gonzales, Caitlin Doyle - Страница 18

BEATRIX POTTER ONE OF THE BEST-LOVED CHILDREN’S AUTHORS OF ALL TIME

FULL NAME: Helen Beatrix Potter

BORN: JULY 28, 1866, LONDON, U.K.

DIED: DECEMBER 22, 1943, NEAR SAWREY, CUMBRIA, U.K.

NATIONALITY: BRITISH

A British postage stamp, circa 1979, showing The Tale of Peter Rabbit

PETER RABBIT’S CREATOR

Despite writing 100 years ago, Beatrix Potter remains one of the best-loved and best-selling children’s authors in history. The mischievous Peter Rabbit is recognized by children all over the world.

Beatrix came from a wealthy English family, and her parents were very artistic. At the time, it was common for children to be looked after by nannies. The Potter nannies spent a lot of time outside with the children and allowed them to set up homes for all sorts of creatures in their nursery. From a young age, Beatrix was fascinated. She sketched animals and insects very carefully and accurately. Eventually, she studied at the National Art Training School. Even though her animal characters wear clothes and engage in human activities, they still look remarkably realistic.

Beatrix first had success making greeting cards, but she also wrote and illustrated stories for friends. One such story was The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In 1902, the publisher Frederick Warne & Co. published Peter Rabbit, and it quickly became popular with young readers. Several tales followed, including The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Tom Kitten, and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. In total, Beatrix wrote 28 books in her lifetime, many of which became instant children’s classics.

A portrait of Beatrix outside of her home in the Lake District, by Charles G.Y. King

WRITING IN NATURE

Throughout her life, Beatrix remained fascinated by nature and animals. Beatrix moved from being a writer in London to a farmer in the countryside of the English Lake District (see top left). Later in life, she wrote less and spent a lot of her time tending her farms and sheep. In particular, she raised a local breed of sheep, the Herdwick, for which she won many prizes. Her commitment to nature and the environment was ahead of its time, and today she would be called a conservationist. She actively campaigned about nature and was a smart businesswoman. When she died, she left 4,000 acres of land and farms to the National Trust, a nature preservation organization in England.

Beatrix Potter’s work remains just as popular today as it was in her lifetime. Her works have been translated into 35 languages and have sold over 100 million copies. And 110 years after the publication of her first book, Beatrix’s fans have a new surprise in store. A long-lost and previously unpublished story, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, was found in 2014. The text, illustrated by prize-winning artist Quentin Blake, is available September 2016!

Beatrix’s home in the English Lake District was Yew Tree Farm, pictured here. It can still be visited today.