24 in ’24 Challenge – Book 6 “The Tale of Beatrix Potter by Margaret Lane

This short but lovely biography of the children’s author was one of the books in my Advent calendar last year (see here for what I thought when I first received the book) and it has been one I have been looking forward to reading. The Tale of Beatrix Potter by Margaret Lane is about the author’s whole life, of which the writing is only a small part. I am not a particular fan of Beatrix’s books but I know that they are well regarded and even loved by many.

Beatrix grew up as the second child of wealthy parents who lived a very quiet life. They were careful of their daughter to such an extent that she lived a very restricted childhood. She had no friends and spent a large amount of her time on her own. Her only real interest was in animals and nature, which she painted in great detail.

She began the stories which we know so well in letters to younger family members and eventually decided to publish them which she did following unhelpful interventions by her parents. The books were amazingly successful and she gained further independence for herself by buying property in the Lake District which was an area that she adored.

Later in her life she met the man who would be her husband and they set up home together in the place that she loved. From the time of the marriage she created no new stories and found her happiness in farming and in breeding rare sheep. She was a huge supporter of the National Trust and bought a lot of land in the area for the organisation to support its work.

This was a fascinating life. It is interesting to see how the books came from Beatrix’s unhappiness and how she stopped writing when she married happily and had the freedom to do what she wanted. This is only a short book and if anyone were interested I am sure that there are longer biographies around but this one told me just enough to understand what a remarkable woman the subject was.