BEATRIX POTTER
Helen Beatrix Potter was born on July 28, 1866 in South Kensington, Middlesex, England
and she died on December 22, 1943 in Sawrey, Lancashire, England.
Potter was an English author and illustrator, botanist, and conservationist,
best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit
Potter eventually published 23 children's books, and having become financially
independent of her parents, was able to buy a farm in the Lake District, which
she extended with other purchases over time. In her forties she married a local
solicitor, William Heelis. She became a sheep breeder and farmer while
continuing to write and illustrate children's books. Potter died in 1943, and
left almost all of her property to The National Trust in order to preserve the
beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers.
In 1901 Beatrix Potter published The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Having
been turned down by a half-dozen publishers, Potter financed this first edition
herself -- 250 copies with her own black and white illustrations, given away or
sold at a half-penny each because, as she put it, "little rabbits cannot afford
to spend 6 shillings."
Potter's books continue to sell well throughout the world, in multiple languages.
Her stories have been retold in various formats, including a ballet, films and
in animation.
Helen Beatrix Potter was born on July 28, 1866 in South Kensington, Middlesex, England
and she died on December 22, 1943 in Sawrey, Lancashire, England.
Potter was an English author and illustrator, botanist, and conservationist,
best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit
Potter eventually published 23 children's books, and having become financially
independent of her parents, was able to buy a farm in the Lake District, which
she extended with other purchases over time. In her forties she married a local
solicitor, William Heelis. She became a sheep breeder and farmer while
continuing to write and illustrate children's books. Potter died in 1943, and
left almost all of her property to The National Trust in order to preserve the
beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers.
In 1901 Beatrix Potter published The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Having
been turned down by a half-dozen publishers, Potter financed this first edition
herself -- 250 copies with her own black and white illustrations, given away or
sold at a half-penny each because, as she put it, "little rabbits cannot afford
to spend 6 shillings."
Potter's books continue to sell well throughout the world, in multiple languages.
Her stories have been retold in various formats, including a ballet, films and
in animation.