View source for Beatrix Potter

{{short description|English writer and illustrator (1866–1943)}}
{{About|the author|the sociologist and reformer born Beatrice Potter|Beatrice Webb|American impersonator|Helen Potter}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Beatrix Potter
| image            = Beatrix Potter by King cropped.jpg
| caption          = Potter in 1913
| birth_name       = Helen Beatrix Potter
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1866|07|28|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[West Brompton]], London, England
| death_date       = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|df=yes|1943|12|22|1866|7|28}}}}
| death_place      = [[Near and Far Sawrey|Near Sawrey]], [[Lancashire]]<!--Lancashire pre-1974-->, England
| occupation       = Children's author and illustrator
| notable_works    = ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]''
| spouse           = {{marriage|William Heelis|1913}}
| relatives        = [[Edmund Potter]] (grandfather)
| partner          = [[Norman Warne]] (fiancé; died before marriage)
| signature        = Beatrix Potter signature.svg
}}

'''Helen Beatrix Heelis''' ({{Née|'''Potter'''}};  28 July 1866{{spaced ndash}}22 December 1943), usually known as '''Beatrix Potter''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|iː|ə|t|r|ɪ|k|s}} {{respell|BEE|ə|triks}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://howjsay.com/how-to-pronounce-beatrix+potter|title=Free online Dictionary of English Pronunciation – How to Pronounce English words|website=howjsay.com|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=21 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821142356/https://howjsay.com/how-to-pronounce-beatrix+potter|url-status=live}}</ref> was an English writer, [[illustrator]], [[Natural science|natural scientist]], and [[Conservation movement|conservationist]]. She is best known for her [[children's literature|children's books]] featuring animals, such as ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]'', which was her first commercially published work in 1902. Her books, including ''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck|The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck]]'' and ''[[The Tale of Tom Kitten]]'', have sold more than 250 million copies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leap Into the Surprising, Art-Filled Life of Beatrix Potter in a New Exhibition |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/beatrix-potter-peter-rabbit-illustrator-biography-180979756/ |access-date=8 October 2022 |work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Introducing Beatrix Potter |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/introducing-beatrix-potter |access-date=8 October 2022 |publisher=[[Victoria and Albert Museum|V&A Museum]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beatrix Potter |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/people/beatrix-potter |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=National Trust |language=en}}</ref> An entrepreneur, Potter was a pioneer of character merchandising.<ref name="Smithsonian"/> In 1903, [[Peter Rabbit]] was the first fictional character to be made into a patented [[stuffed toy]], making him the oldest [[Brand licensing|licensed character]].<ref name="Times"/>

Born into an upper-middle-class household, Potter was educated by [[governess]]es and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and spent holidays in Scotland and the [[Lake District]], developing a love of landscape, flora and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Potter's study and watercolours of fungi led to her being widely respected in the field of [[mycology]]. In her thirties, Potter self-published the highly successful children's book ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit''. Following this, Potter began writing and illustrating children's books full-time.

Potter wrote over sixty books, with the best known being her [[#Publications|twenty-three children's tales]]. In 1905, using the proceeds from her books and a legacy from an aunt, Potter bought [[Hill Top, Cumbria|Hill Top Farm]] in [[Near and Far Sawrey|Near Sawrey]], a village in the Lake District. Over the following decades, she purchased additional farms to preserve the unique hill country landscape. In 1913, at the age of 47, she married William Heelis (1871–1945), a respected local solicitor with an office in [[Hawkshead]]. Potter was also a prize-winning breeder of [[Herdwick|Herdwick sheep]] and a prosperous farmer keenly interested in land preservation. She continued to write, illustrate, and design merchandise based on her children's books for British publisher [[Frederick Warne & Co.|Warne]] until the duties of land management and her diminishing eyesight made it difficult to continue.<ref name="Merch"/>

Potter died of [[pneumonia]] and [[Cardiovascular disease|heart disease]] on 22 December 1943 at her home in Near Sawrey at the age of 77, leaving almost all her property to the [[National Trust]]. She is credited with preserving much of the land that now constitutes the [[Lake District National Park]]. Potter's books continue to sell throughout the world in many languages with her stories being retold in songs, films, ballet, and animations, and her life is depicted in two films – ''[[The Tales of Beatrix Potter]]'' (1983) and ''[[Miss Potter]]'' (2006).

==Biography==

===Early life ===
[[File:Potter about 1874.JPG|thumb|upright=0.7|Potter aged eight, {{Circa|1874}}]]

Potter's family on both sides were from the [[Manchester]] area.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 10</ref> They were English [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]],<ref>Lear 2007, p. 9</ref> associated with dissenting [[Protestantism|Protestant]] congregations, influential in 19th-century Britain, that affirmed the oneness of God and that rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Potter's paternal grandfather, [[Edmund Potter]], from [[Glossop]] in [[Derbyshire]], owned what was then the largest [[calico]] printing works in England, and later served as a Member of Parliament.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 10–14</ref>

Potter's father, Rupert William Potter (1832–1914), was educated at [[Harris Manchester College, Oxford|Manchester College]] by the [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] philosopher [[James Martineau]].<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news|last1=Walker|first1=Tim|title=Mandrake-The Duchess of Cambridge is related to Potter, who once gave the Middleton family her own original hand-painted illustrations|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10980599/Kate-Middleton-is-related-to-Beatrix-Potter.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|page=8|date=22 July 2014|access-date=16 August 2014|archive-date=16 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616211600/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10980599/Kate-Middleton-is-related-to-Beatrix-Potter.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Judy|title=Beatrix Potter – Artist, Storyteller|url=http://www.e-reading.co.uk/bookreader.php/1007152/Taylor_-_Beatrix_Potter_Artist,_Storyteller_and_Countrywoman.html|publisher=Frederick Warne|year=1996|access-date=15 January 2014|archive-date=16 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116190017/http://www.e-reading.co.uk/bookreader.php/1007152/Taylor_-_Beatrix_Potter_Artist,_Storyteller_and_Countrywoman.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He then trained as a [[barrister]] in London. Rupert practiced law, specialising in [[equity (legal concept)|equity]] law and [[conveyancing]]. He married Helen Leech (1839–1932) on 8 August 1863 at Hyde Unitarian Chapel, [[Gee Cross]]. Helen was the daughter of Jane Ashton (1806–1884) and John Leech, a wealthy cotton merchant and shipbuilder from [[Stalybridge]]. Helen's first cousins were siblings [[Lupton family|Harriet Lupton]] (''née'' Ashton) and  [[Thomas Ashton, 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde]]. It was reported in July 2014 that Potter had personally given a number of her own original hand-painted illustrations to the two daughters of Arthur and Harriet Lupton, who were cousins to both Beatrix Potter and [[Catherine, Princess of Wales]].<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Evening Mail |first1=NW |title=Cumbria author Beatrix Potter link to Prince George revealed |url=http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/cumbria-author-beatrix-potter-link-to-prince-george-revealed-1.1149744 |date=21 July 2014 |newspaper=North-West Evening Mail |access-date=16 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728105712/https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/cumbria-author-beatrix-potter-link-to-prince-george-revealed-1.1149744 |archive-date=28 July 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:Young Beatrix.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Potter aged fifteen with her [[English Springer Spaniel|springer spaniel]], Spot]]
Potter's parents lived comfortably at 2 Bolton Gardens, [[West Brompton]], London, where Helen Beatrix was born on 28 July 1866 and her brother Walter Bertram on 14 March 1872.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 13–24</ref> The house was destroyed in [[the Blitz]]. Bousfield Primary School now stands where the house once was. A blue plaque on the school building testifies to the former site of the Potter home.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beatrix Potter's London|url=https://londonist.com/2016/01/beatrix-potter-s-london|website=Londonist.com|date=26 January 2016|access-date=19 September 2017|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031134324/https://londonist.com/2016/01/beatrix-potter-s-london|url-status=live}}</ref> Both parents were artistically talented,<ref>Lear 2007, p. 21</ref> and Rupert was an adept amateur photographer.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 35–36</ref><ref>Rupert Potter was a member of the Photographic Society, later [[Royal Photographic Society]] from 1869 until 1912. Information from Michael Pritchard, Director-General / [http://www.rps.org www.rps.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402035959/http://www.rps.org/ |date=2 April 2014 }}, 13 May 2014.</ref> Rupert had invested in the stock market, and by the early 1890s, he was extremely wealthy.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 19. Rupert came into his father's estate over the course of several years, 1884, 1891 and 1905. The Potters were comfortable but they did not live exclusively on inherited wealth; Lane, (1946) ''The Tale of Beatrix Potter'' 1946, p. 1</ref>

Beatrix Potter was educated by three governesses, the last of whom was Annie Moore (''née'' Carter), just three years older than Potter, who tutored Potter in German as well as acting as [[lady's companion]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 55</ref> She and Potter remained friends throughout their lives, and Annie's eight children were the recipients of many of Potter's picture letters. It was Annie who later suggested that these letters might make good children's books.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 142; Lane, 1978, ''The Magic Years of Potter Potter''. Lane depicts Potter's childhood as much more restricted than either or Potter's two later biographers. Taylor, ''Beatrix Potter: Artist Story Teller'', Ch 1.; Lear, 2007, pp. 25–48;  Beatrix Potter, ''The Journal of Beatrix Potter: From 1881–1897''.</ref>

[[File:Wray Castle, Windermere.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|In 1882, Potter's stay at [[Wray Castle]] on the banks of [[Windermere|Lake Windermere]] during a family holiday began her long association with the English [[Lake District]].]]
She and her younger brother Walter Bertram (1872–1918) grew up with few friends outside their large extended family. Her parents were artistic, interested in nature, and enjoyed the countryside. As children, Potter and Bertram had numerous small animals as pets which they observed closely and drew endlessly. In their schoolroom, Potter and Bertram kept a variety of small pets—mice, rabbits, a hedgehog and some bats, along with collections of butterflies and other insects—which they drew and studied.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 31, pp. 37–44, p. 458nn15</ref> Potter was devoted to the care of her small animals, often taking them with her on long holidays.<ref>Judy Taylor, Joyce Irene Whalley, Anne Stevenson Hobbs and Elizabeth Battrick, (1987) ''Beatrix Potter, 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World'', pp.9–17, 35–48; Lear, pp. 25–48.</ref> In most of the first fifteen years of her life, Potter spent summer holidays at [[Dalguise]], an estate on the [[River Tay]] in [[Perthshire|Perthshire, Scotland]]. There she sketched and explored an area that nourished her imagination and her observation.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 26–8, 51</ref> Her first sketchbook from those holidays, kept at age 8 and dated 1875, is held at and has been digitised by the [[Victoria and Albert Museum|Victoria & Albert Museum, London]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=V&A · Beatrix Potter's first sketchbook, aged 8 |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/beatrix-potters-first-sketchbook-aged-8 |access-date=11 May 2022 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum |language=en}}</ref> Potter and her brother were allowed great freedom in the country, and both children became adept students of [[natural history]]. In 1882, when Dalguise was no longer available, the Potters took their first summer holiday in the [[Lake District]], at [[Wray Castle]] near [[Windermere|Lake Windermere]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 51–2</ref> Here Potter met [[Hardwicke Rawnsley]], vicar of Wray and later the founding secretary of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]], whose interest in the countryside and country life inspired the same in Potter and who was to have a lasting impact on her life.<ref>Potter, ''The Journal, 1885–1897''</ref><ref>Lear 2007, pp. 52–3</ref>

{{multiple image|align=left
 | footer    = [[Lingholm]] country house (where Potter spent her summer holidays from 1885 to 1907) and a statue of [[Peter Rabbit]] on the house grounds. Lingholm kitchen garden inspired Mr. McGregor's garden in the Peter Rabbit stories. With its connection to Potter, Lingholm was [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed Grade II]] on the [[National Heritage List for England]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lingholm given grade II historic listing by English Heritage |url=https://thelingholmestate.co.uk/house |publisher=The Lingholm Estate |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105183220/https://thelingholmestate.co.uk/house |archivedate=5 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1413920|desc=Lingholm|access-date=10 May 2023|mode=cs2}}</ref>
 | width     =
 | image1    = Lingholm - geograph.org.uk - 349521.jpg
 | width1    = 220
 | image2    = Peter Rabbit Statue at Lingholm (geograph 5930258).jpg
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}}
At about the age of 14, Potter began to keep a diary, written in a simple [[substitution cipher]] of her own devising. Her ''Journal'' was important to the development of her creativity, serving as both sketchbook and literary experiment. In tiny handwriting, she reported on society, recorded her impressions of art and artists, recounted stories and observed life around her.<ref>Lear 2007, pp.49–51 ''cf.'' also p. 463nn1</ref> The ''Journal'', deciphered and transcribed by Leslie Linder in 1958, does not provide an intimate record of her personal life, but it is an invaluable source for understanding a vibrant part of British society in the late 19th century. It describes Potter's maturing artistic and intellectual interests, her often amusing insights into the places she visited, and her unusual ability to observe nature and to describe it. Started in 1881, her journal ends in 1897 when her artistic and intellectual energies were absorbed in scientific study and in efforts to publish her drawings.<ref>Potter, "The Journal, 1885–1897"</ref> Precocious but reserved and often bored, she was searching for more independent activities and wished to earn some money of her own while dutifully taking care of her parents, dealing with her especially demanding mother,<ref>Lear 2007, p. 94 also ''cf.'' p. 474nn55</ref> and managing their various households.

===Scientific illustrations and work in mycology===
[[File:Beatrix Potter- Mycology. Source- Armitt Museum and Library.jpg|thumb|Beatrix Potter: reproductive system of ''[[Hygrocybe coccinea]]'', 1897]]
In the [[Victorian era]], women of her class were privately educated and rarely went to university. Potter's parents encouraged her higher education, but the social norms of the time limited her academic career within Britain's institutions.<ref>Taylor, ''Artist, Storyteller'', pp. 59–61; Elizabeth E. Battrick, (1999) ''Beatrix Potter: The Unknown Years''; Lynn Barber, (1980) ''The Heyday of Natural History'', Brian Gardiner, "Breatrix Potter's Fossils and Her Interests in Geology", The Linnean, 16/1 (January 2000), 31–47; Lear 2007, pp. 76–103; Potter, ''Journal, 1891–1897''.</ref>

Beatrix Potter was interested in every branch of natural science except [[astronomy]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 98</ref> [[Botany]] was a passion for most [[Victorian era|Victorians]], and [[nature study]] was a popular enthusiasm. She collected fossils,<ref>Brian G. Gardiner, "Beatrix Potter's fossils and her interest in Geology," ''The Linnean: Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'' 16/1 (January 2000), pp. 31–47</ref> studied [[archeology|archaeological]] artefacts from London excavations, and was interested in [[entomology]]. In all these areas, she drew and painted her specimens with increasing skill. By the 1890s, her scientific interests centred on [[mycology]]. First drawn to fungi because of their colours and evanescence in nature and her delight in painting them, her interest deepened after meeting Charles McIntosh, a revered naturalist and amateur mycologist, during a summer holiday in Dunkeld in [[Perthshire]] in 1892. He helped improve the accuracy of her illustrations, taught her [[taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]], and supplied her with live specimens to paint during the winter. <onlyinclude>{{#invoke:transcludable section|main|section=Scientific illustrations and work in mycology|text=Curious as to how fungi reproduced, Potter began microscopic drawings of fungus spores (the [[agaric]]s) and in 1895 developed a theory of their [[germination]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 81–103</ref> Through the connections of her uncle [[Henry Enfield Roscoe|Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe]], a chemist and [[vice-chancellor (education)|vice-chancellor]] of the [[University of London]], she consulted with botanists at [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Kew Gardens]], convincing [[George Edward Massee|George Massee]] of her ability to germinate spores and her theory of [[F1 hybrid|hybridisation]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 117</ref> She did not believe in the theory of [[symbiosis]] proposed by [[Simon Schwendener]], the German mycologist, as previously thought; instead, she proposed a more independent process of reproduction.<ref>M.A. Taylor and R.H. Rodger, eds. (2003) ''A Fascinating Acquaintance: Charles McIntosh and Beatrix Potter''; Taylor, et al. (1987) ''Artist and Her World'', pp. 71–94; Lear 2007, pp. 104–129; Nicholas P. Money, "Beatrix Potter, Victorian Mycologist", ''Fungi''. 2:4 (Fall 2009); Roy Watling, "Helen Beatrix Potter: Her interest in fungi", ''The Linnean: Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'', 16/1 (January 2000), pp. 24–31.</ref>}}</onlyinclude>

Rebuffed by [[William Turner Thiselton-Dyer|William Thiselton-Dyer]], the Director at Kew, because of her sex and amateur status, Potter wrote up her conclusions and submitted a paper, ''On the Germination of the Spores of the Agaricineae'', to the [[Linnean Society]] in 1897. It was introduced by Massee because, as a woman, Potter could not attend proceedings nor read her paper. She subsequently withdrew it, realising that some of her samples were contaminated, but continued her microscopic studies for several more years. Her work is only now being properly evaluated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beatrix Potter and the Linnean Society|url=http://www.linnean.org/index.php?id=104|publisher=Linnean Society|access-date=1 November 2011|archive-date=9 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109195118/http://linnean.org/index.php?id=104|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Lear 2007, pp. 104–25</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linnean.org/Resources/LinneanSociety/Documents/Publications/The-Linnaen/Lin%20Vol%2016_%20no%201_%20Jan%202000.pdf |last=Watling |first=Roy |title=Helen Beatrix Potter: Her interest in fungi |work=The Linnean: Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London |volume=16 |issue=1 |date=January 2000 |pages=24–31 |author-link=Roy Watling |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513210936/https://www.linnean.org/Resources/LinneanSociety/Documents/Publications/The-Linnaen/Lin%20Vol%2016_%20no%201_%20Jan%202000.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2013 }}</ref> Potter later gave her other mycological and scientific drawings to the [[Armitt Library|Armitt Museum and Library]] in Ambleside, where mycologists still refer to them to identify fungi. There is also a collection of her fungus paintings at the [[Perth Museum and Art Gallery]] in Perth, Scotland, donated by Charles McIntosh. In 1967, the mycologist [[Walter Philip Kennedy Findlay|W. P. K. Findlay]] included many of Potter's beautifully accurate fungus drawings in his ''Wayside & Woodland Fungi'', thereby fulfilling her desire to one day have her fungus drawings published in a book.<ref>Walter Philip Kennedy Findlay, (1967) ''Wayside & Woodland Fungi''</ref> In 1997, the Linnean Society issued a posthumous apology to Potter for the sexism displayed in its handling of her research.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 125, p.482nn58</ref>

===Artistic and literary career===
[[File:Peter Rabbit first edition 1902a.jpg|thumb|upright|First edition, 1902]]
Potter's artistic and literary interests were deeply influenced by fairy tales and fantasy. She was a student of the classic fairy tales of Western Europe as well as stories from the [[Old Testament]], [[John Bunyan]]'s ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' and [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]]'s ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''. She grew up with ''[[Aesop's Fables]]'', the fairy tales of the [[Brothers Grimm]] and [[Hans Christian Andersen]], [[Charles Kingsley]]'s ''[[The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby|The Water Babies]]'',<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 30–1</ref> the folk tales and [[Scottish mythology|mythology of Scotland]], the [[German Romanticism|German Romantics]], [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]],<ref>Lear 2007, p. 95. She liked to memorise his plays by heart.</ref> and the romances of [[Sir Walter Scott]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 35. Beatrix said she learnt to read "on" Scott</ref> As a young child, before the age of eight, [[Edward Lear]]'s ''[[:s:The Book of Nonsense|A Book of Nonsense]]'', including the much-loved ''[[The Owl and the Pussycat]]'', and [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]]'' had made their impression, although she later said of ''Alice'' that she was more interested in [[John Tenniel|Tenniel]]'s illustrations than what they were about.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 34</ref>

The ''[[Brer Rabbit]]'' stories of [[Joel Chandler Harris]] had been family favourites, and she later studied his ''[[Uncle Remus]]'' stories and illustrated them.<ref>Lear 2007, p.131. She began eight ''Uncle Remus'' drawings in the same year 1893 she began writing the ''Peter Rabbit'' picture letters to Noel Moore, completing the last in 1896.</ref> She studied book illustration from a young age and developed her own tastes, but the work of the picture book triumvirate [[Walter Crane]], [[Kate Greenaway]] and [[Randolph Caldecott]], the last an illustrator whose work was later collected by her father, was a great influence.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 33</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Toads' Tea Party |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1311941/the-toads-tea-party-drawing-beatrix-potter/ |access-date=9 October 2022 |work=V&A Museum}}</ref> Her earliest illustrations focused on traditional rhymes and stories like ''[[Cinderella]]'', ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'', ''[[Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves]]'', ''[[Puss in Boots]]'', and ''[[Little Red Riding Hood]]''.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 127–8</ref> However, most often her illustrations were fantasies featuring her own pets: mice, rabbits, kittens, and guinea pigs.<ref>Taylor, et al., ''The Artist and her World,'' pp. 49–70;  Potter, ''Journal, 1884–1897''; Humphrey Carpenter (1985), ''Secret Gardens: The Golden Age of Children's Literature.''</ref>

In her teenage years, Potter was a regular visitor to the art galleries of London, particularly enjoying the summer and winter exhibitions at the [[Royal Academy]] in London.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 47-8. [[J. M. W. Turner]] was the first artist to impress her.</ref> Her ''Journal'' reveals her growing sophistication as a critic as well as the influence of her father's friend, the artist [[Sir John Everett Millais]], who recognised Potter's talent of observation. Although Potter was aware of art and artistic trends, her drawing and her prose style were uniquely her own.<ref>Taylor, ''Artist, Storyteller,'' pp. 70–95; Taylor, ed. 1989, ''Beatrix Potters Letters''.</ref>

[[File:Beatrix Potter 'Toads Tea-party' c.1905 Bk of Rhymes (1917).jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Potter illustration, "Toad's Tea Party", {{Circa|1905}}, which appears in her ''[[Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes]]'', 1917]]
As a way to earn money in the 1890s, Potter printed [[Christmas cards]] of her own design, as well as cards for special occasions. These were her first commercially successful works as an illustrator.<ref>{{cite news |title=Christmas cards designed by a young Beatrix Potter to go on display |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/christmas-cards-designed-by-a-young-beatrix-potter-to-go-on-display-41166546.html |access-date=9 October 2022 |work=Belfast Telegraph}}</ref> Mice and rabbits were the most frequent subject of her fantasy paintings. In 1890, the firm of Hildesheimer and Faulkner bought several of the drawings of her rabbit [[Benjamin Bunny]] to illustrate verses by [[Frederic Weatherly]] titled ''A Happy Pair''. In 1893, the same printer bought several more drawings for Weatherly's ''Our Dear Relations'', another book of rhymes, and the following year Potter sold a series of frog illustrations and verses for ''Changing Pictures'', a popular annual offered by the art publisher Ernest Nister. Potter was pleased by this success and determined to publish her own illustrated stories.<ref>Taylor, et al. 1987, pp. 107–148; Katherine Chandler, "Thoroughly Post-Victorian, Pre-Modern Beatrix." ''Children's Literature Quarterly''. 32(4): 287–307.</ref>

Whenever Potter went on holiday to the [[Lake District]] or [[Scotland]], she sent letters to young friends, illustrating them with quick sketches. Many of these letters were written to the children of her former governess Annie Carter Moore, particularly to Moore's eldest son Noel, who was often ill. In September 1893, Potter was on holiday at Eastwood in [[Dunkeld]], Perthshire. She had run out of things to say to Noel, and so she told him a story about "four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter". It became one of the most famous children's letters ever written and the basis of Potter's future career as a writer-artist-storyteller.<ref>Judy Taylor 1992, ''Letters to Children from Beatrix Potter''.</ref>

[[File:Beatrix Potter dummy manuscripts.jpg|thumb|left|Potter's dummy manuscripts of three of her books – designed to see how the printed book would look]]
In 1900, Potter revised her tale about the four little rabbits, and fashioned a dummy book of it – it has been suggested, in imitation of [[Helen Bannerman]]'s 1899 bestseller ''[[The Story of Little Black Sambo]]''.<ref>Stevenson, Laura C. "A Vogue for Small Books": The Tale of Peter Rabbit and its Contemporary Competitors" [http://www.lauracstevenson.org/avogueoflittlebooks.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322073135/http://www.lauracstevenson.org/avogueoflittlebooks.htm|date=22 March 2012}}</ref> Unable to find a buyer for the work, she published it for family and friends at her own expense in December 1901. It was drawn in black and white with a coloured frontispiece. Rawnsley had great faith in Potter's tale, recast it in didactic verse, and made the rounds of the London publishing houses. [[Frederick Warne & Co]] had previously rejected the tale but, eager to compete in the booming small format children's book market, reconsidered and accepted the "bunny book" (as the firm called it) following the recommendation of their prominent children's book artist [[L. Leslie Brooke]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 144–7</ref> The firm declined Rawnsley's verse in favour of Potter's original prose, and Potter agreed to colour her pen and ink illustrations, choosing the new [[Edmund Evans#Later work and retirement|Hentschel three-colour process]] to reproduce her watercolours.<ref name="Hobbs15">Hobbs 1989, p. 15</ref>

[[File:Tower Bank Arms.jpg|thumb|right|Potter used many real locations for her book illustrations. The Tower Bank Arms, Near Sawrey appears in ''The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck''.]]
On 2 October 1902, ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]'' was published and became an immediate success.<ref>Taylor 1996, p. 76</ref> It was followed the next year by ''[[The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin]]'' and ''[[The Tailor of Gloucester]]'', which had also first been written as picture letters to the Moore children. Working with [[Norman Warne]] as her editor, Potter published two or three little books each year: 23 books in all. The last book in this format was ''[[Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes]]'' in 1922, a collection of favourite rhymes. Although ''[[The Tale of Little Pig Robinson]]'' was not published until 1930, it had been written much earlier. Potter continued creating her little books until after the [[First World War]] when her energies were increasingly directed toward her farming, sheep-breeding, and land conservation.<ref>Judy Taylor 2002, ''That Naughty Rabbit: Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit'';  Lear 2007, pp. 207–247; Anne Stevenson Hobbs, ed. 1989, ''Beatrix Potter's Art: Paintings and Drawings''.</ref>

The immense popularity of Potter's books was based on the lively quality of her illustrations, the non-didactic nature of her stories, the depiction of the rural countryside, and the imaginative qualities she lent to her animal characters.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdVTAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA165|last=Kutzer|first=M. Daphne|title=Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code|page=165|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0415943523|year=2002|access-date=8 July 2019|archive-date=5 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205185527/https://books.google.com/books?id=qdVTAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA165|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EvQcDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT99|last=Gristwood|first=Sarah|title=The Story of Beatrix Potter|page=99|publisher=[[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]|isbn=978-1909881808|year=2016|access-date=8 July 2019}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Potter was also a canny businesswoman. As early as 1903, she made and patented a [[Peter Rabbit]] doll. It was followed by other merchandise over the years, including painting books, board games, wall-paper, figurines, baby blankets and china tea-sets. All were licensed by [[Frederick Warne & Co]] and earned Potter an independent income, as well as immense profits for her publisher.<ref>See Judy Taylor 2002, "That Naughty Rabbit"</ref>

In 1905, Potter and [[Norman Warne]] became unofficially engaged. Potter's parents objected to the match because Warne was "in trade" and thus not socially suitable. The engagement lasted only one month—Warne died of [[pernicious anaemia]] at age 37.<ref>Lear 2007, pp.198- 201</ref> That same year, Potter used some of her income and a small inheritance from an aunt to buy [[Hill Top Farm]] in [[Near Sawrey]], located {{convert|6|mi|adj=off}} west of Lake [[Windermere]] in the English [[Lake District]]. Potter and Warne may have hoped that Hill Top Farm would be their holiday home, but after Warne's death, Potter went ahead with its purchase as she had always wanted to own that farm and live in "that charming village".<ref>Lear 2007, p. 207</ref>

===Country life and marriage===
[[File:Hill Top - geograph.org.uk - 4007824.jpg|thumb|[[Hill Top, Cumbria|Hill Top]] in [[Near Sawrey]]&nbsp;– Potter's home from 1905 until her death in 1943, now owned by the [[National Trust]] and preserved as it was when she lived and wrote her stories there.<ref name="Hill Top"/>]]
[[File:Potterguests.jpg|thumb|Japanese tourists (pictured at Hill Top) are among the frequent visitors to Potter's home. Merchandisers in Japan estimate that 80% of the population have heard of Peter Rabbit.<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams |first=Francesca |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-24625202 |title=Peter Rabbit: Why the Japanese love Beatrix Potter| publisher= BBC News| website= BBC |date=13 November 2013 |access-date=8 June 2023}}</ref>]]
The tenant farmer John Cannon and his family agreed to stay on to manage the farm for her while she made physical improvements and learned the techniques of [[fell farming]] and of raising livestock, including pigs, cows and chickens; the following year she added sheep. Realising she needed to protect her boundaries, she sought advice from W.H. Heelis & Son, a local firm of solicitors with offices in nearby [[Hawkshead]]. With William Heelis acting for her, she bought contiguous pasture, and in 1909 the {{convert|20|acre|ha}} Castle Farm across the road from Hill Top Farm. She visited Hill Top at every opportunity, and her books written during this period (such as ''[[The Tale of Ginger and Pickles]]'', about the local shop in Near Sawrey and ''[[The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse]]'', a wood mouse) reflect her increasing participation in village life and her delight in country living.<ref>Taylor, ed., (2002) ''Beatrix Potter's Letters''; Hunter Davies, ''Beatrix Potter's Lakeland''; W.R. Mitchell, ''Potter: Her Life in the Lake District''.</ref>

{{Quote box|width=27%|align=left|quote="Hill Top is to be presented to my visitors as if I had just gone out and they had just missed me."|source=—Statement by Potter in her will to the National Trust.<ref name="Hill Top">{{cite news |title=Beatrix Potter's Hill Top house, the Lakes: 'It feels like a game of Potter I-spy' – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/jun/01/beatrix-potter-house-hill-top-lake-district-review |access-date=21 January 2024 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>}}
Owning and managing these working farms required routine collaboration with the widely respected William Heelis. By the summer of 1912, Heelis had proposed marriage and Potter had accepted; although she did not immediately tell her parents, who once again disapproved because Heelis was only a country solicitor. Potter and Heelis were married on 15 October 1913 in London at [[St Mary Abbots]] in [[Kensington]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dennison |first=Matthew |title=Over the hills and far away: the life of Beatrix Potter |date=2016 |publisher=Head of Zeus |isbn=978-1-78497-563-0 |location=London |pages=177}}</ref> The couple moved immediately to [[Near and Far Sawrey|Near Sawrey]], residing at Castle Cottage, the renovated farmhouse on Castle Farm, which was {{convert|34|acres|ha}} large. Hill Top remained a working farm but was now remodelled to allow for the tenant family and Potter's private studio and workshop. At last her own woman, Potter settled into the partnerships that shaped the rest of her life: her country solicitor husband and his large family, her farms, the Sawrey community and the predictable rounds of country life. ''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck]]'' and ''[[The Tale of Tom Kitten]]'' are representative of Hill Top Farm and her farming life and reflect her happiness with her country life.<ref>John Heelis, (1999) ''The Tale of Mrs William Heelis&nbsp;– Beatrix Potter''; Lear, Ch. 13.</ref>

Her father, Rupert Potter, died in 1914, and with the outbreak of [[World War I]], Potter persuaded her mother to move to the Lake District, renting her a property in Sawrey. Finding life in Sawrey dull, Helen Potter soon moved to Lindeth Howe (now a 34-bedroomed hotel), a large house the Potters had previously rented for the summer in [[Bowness-on-Windermere|Bowness]], on the other side of Lake Windermere.<ref>{{cite book|last= McDowell|first= Marta|title=Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the classic children's tales|publisher=Timber Press|date=2013|pages=116|isbn=978-1604693638}}</ref> Potter continued to write stories for Frederick Warne & Co and fully participated in country life. She established a nursing trust for local villages and served on various committees and councils responsible for footpaths and other rural issues.<ref>Taylor et al. ''The Artist and Her World'', pp. 185–194; Taylor, ''Artist Storyteller'', pp. 105–144.</ref>

===Sheep farming===
Soon after acquiring Hill Top Farm, Potter became keenly interested in the breeding and raising of [[Herdwick|Herdwick sheep]], the indigenous fell sheep. In 1923 she bought a large sheep farm in the Troutbeck Valley called [[Troutbeck Park|Troutbeck Park Farm]], formerly a deer park, restoring its land with thousands of Herdwick sheep. This established her as one of the major Herdwick sheep farmers in the county. She was admired by her shepherds and farm managers for her willingness to experiment with the latest biological remedies for the common diseases of sheep, and for her employment of the best shepherds, sheep breeders, and farm managers.<ref>William Rollinson, (1981) ''How They Lived in the Lake District''; Susan Denyer, 1993 ''Herdwick Sheep Farming''; Geoff Brown, (2009) ''Herdwicks: Herdwick Sheep and the English Lake District''; Judy Taylor, ed., (1998) ''Beatrix Potter's Farming Friendship. Lake District Letters to Joseph Moscrop, 1926–1943''.</ref>

By the late 1920s, Potter and her Hill Top farm manager Tom Storey had made a name for their prize-winning Herdwick flock, which took many prizes at the local agricultural shows, where Potter was often asked to serve as a judge. In 1942 she became President-elect of the Herdwick Sheepbreeders' Association, the first time a woman had been elected, but died before taking office.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 381–404</ref>

===Welsh language===
In one of her diary entries whilst travelling through Wales, Potter complained about the [[Welsh language]]. She wrote "[[Machynlleth]], wretched town, hardly a person could speak English", continuing "Welsh seem a pleasant intelligent race, but I should think awkward to live with... the language is past description."<ref>{{cite news |title=Keeping up with the Joneses |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/jul/16/society |access-date=13 May 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=E3DC8P1jEYEC "The Journal of Beatrix Potter from 1881 to 1897"], By Beatrix Potter, Transcribed by Leslie Linder (Published by Warne, 1989)</ref>

==Lake District conservation==
[[File:Derwent Water, Lake District, Cumbria - June 2009.jpg|thumb|upright=1.54|The [[Lake District]] in North West England]]
Potter had been a disciple of the land conservation and preservation ideals of her long-time friend and mentor, [[Hardwicke Rawnsley|Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley]], the first secretary and founding member of the [[National Trust]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Who was Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley?|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/who-was-hardwicke-drummond-rawnsley|access-date=4 October 2021|website=National Trust|language=en|archive-date=4 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004043256/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/who-was-hardwicke-drummond-rawnsley|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the National Trust, "she supported the efforts of the National Trust to preserve not just the places of extraordinary beauty but also those heads of valleys and low grazing lands that would be irreparably ruined by development." Potter was also an authority on the traditional Lakeland crafts and period furniture,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lear|first=Linda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P8VID3P916gC&dq=beatrix+potter+farm+restoration&pg=PA375|title=Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature|date=4 March 2008|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-37796-0|pages=373–376|language=en}}</ref> as well as local stonework. She restored and preserved the farms that she bought or managed, making sure that each farm house had in it a piece of antique Lakeland furniture. Potter was interested in preserving not only the [[Herdwick|Herdwick sheep]] but also the way of life of fell farming.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lear|first=Linda|title=Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature|url=http://www.bpotter.com/StoryPart2.aspx|url-status=live|access-date=4 October 2021|website=www.bpotter.com|archive-date=4 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004043251/http://www.bpotter.com/StoryPart2.aspx}}</ref> In 1930 the Heelises became partners with the National Trust in buying and managing the fell farms included in the large Monk Coniston Estate.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Walk in Beatrix Potter's footsteps|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery-and-hawkshead/features/walk-in-beatrix-potters-footsteps|access-date=4 October 2021|website=National Trust|language=en|archive-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029202331/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatrix-potter-gallery-and-hawkshead/features/walk-in-beatrix-potters-footsteps|url-status=live}}</ref>

The estate was composed of many farms spread over a wide area of north-western Lancashire, including the [[Tarn Hows]]. Potter was the ''de facto'' estate manager for the Trust for seven years until the National Trust could afford to repurchase most of the property from her. Potter's stewardship of these farms earned her full regard, but she was not without her critics, not the least of which were her contemporaries who felt she used her wealth and the position of her husband to acquire properties in advance of their being made public. She was notable in observing the problems of [[afforestation]], preserving the intact grazing lands, and husbanding the quarries and timber on these farms. All her farms were stocked with Herdwick sheep and frequently with [[Galloway cattle]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Photograph of the Month - October 2013 |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/photograph-of-the-month/photograph-of-the-month-october-2013.php |access-date=6 October 2022 |work=National Portrait Gallery |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006152742/https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/photograph-of-the-month/photograph-of-the-month-october-2013.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Later life==
[[File:PotterCecily8.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|"[[This Little Piggy]]" illustration by Potter from her ''[[Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes]]'', 1922]]
Potter continued to write stories and to draw, although mostly for her own pleasure. In 1922,  ''[[Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes]]'', a collection of traditional English [[nursery rhyme]]s, was published. Her books in the late 1920s included the semi-autobiographical ''[[The Fairy Caravan]]'', a fanciful tale set in her beloved [[Troutbeck Tongue|Troutbeck fells]]. It was published only in the US during Potter's lifetime, and not until 1952 in the UK. ''Sister Anne'', Potter's version of the story of [[Bluebeard]], was written for her American readers, but illustrated by Katharine Sturges. A final folktale, ''Wag by Wall'', was published posthumously by ''[[The Horn Book Magazine]]'' in 1944. Potter was a generous patron of the [[Girl Guides]], whose troops she allowed to make their summer encampments on her land, and whose company she enjoyed as an older woman.<ref>Jane Morse, ed., (1982) ''Beatrix Potter's Americans: Selected Letters''; Susan Denyer, (2000) ''At Home with Beatrix Potter: The Creator of Peter Rabbit''.</ref>

Potter and William Heelis enjoyed a happy marriage of thirty years, continuing their farming and preservation efforts throughout the hard days of [[World War II]]. Although they were childless, Potter played an important role in William's large family, particularly enjoying her relationship with several nieces whom she helped educate, and giving comfort and aid to her husband's brothers and sisters.<ref>Heelis, ''Mrs. William Heelis''; Taylor, ed., ''Beatrix Potter's Letters''.</ref>

Potter died of complications from [[pneumonia]] and [[Cardiovascular disease|heart disease]] on 22 December 1943 at Castle Cottage, and her remains were cremated at [[Carleton Crematorium and Cemetery|Carleton Crematorium]], Blackpool. She left nearly all her property to the National Trust, including over {{convert|4000|acre|km2}} of land, sixteen farms, cottages and herds of cattle and Herdwick sheep. Hers was the largest gift at that time to the National Trust, and it enabled the preservation of the land now included in the [[Lake District National Park]] and the continuation of fell farming. The central office of the National Trust in [[Swindon]] was named "Heelis" in 2005 in her memory. William Heelis continued his stewardship of their properties and of her literary and artistic work for the twenty months he survived her. When he died in August 1945, he left the remainder to the National Trust.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 405–440; Taylor, ed., ''Beatrix Potter's Letters''; Taylor, et al., ''The Artist and Her World''.</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Goody and Mrs. Hackee.jpg|thumb|left|Goody and Mrs. Hackee, illustration to ''The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes'', 1911]]
Potter left almost all the original illustrations for her books to the National Trust. The copyright to her stories and merchandise was then given to her publisher Frederick Warne & Co, now a division of the [[Penguin Group]]. On 1 January 2014, the copyright expired in the UK and other countries with a 70-years-after-death limit. Hill Top Farm was opened to the public by the National Trust in 1946; her artwork was displayed there until 1985 when it was moved to William Heelis's former law offices in [[Hawkshead]], also owned by the National Trust as the [[Beatrix Potter Gallery]].<ref>Bruce L. Thompson, 'Beatrix Potter's Gift to the Public'. ''Country Life'' (3 March 1944), 370–371; Taylor, et al., ''The Artist Storyteller'', Ch. 6; Lear 2007, pp. 441–447.</ref>

Potter gave her folios of mycological drawings to the [[Armitt Library|Armitt Library and Museum]] in [[Ambleside]] before her death. ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' is owned by [[Frederick Warne & Co.|Warne]], ''The Tailor of Gloucester'' by the [[Tate Gallery]], and ''The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies'' by the [[British Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://culturalinstitute.britishmuseum.org/asset-viewer/beatrix-potter-flopsy-bunnies-a-drawing-in-pen-and-ink-with-watercolour/DQEnktGEHYojdQ?hl=en|title=British Museum – Google Arts & Culture|website=britishmuseum.org|access-date=19 July 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920051627/http://culturalinstitute.britishmuseum.org/asset-viewer/beatrix-potter-flopsy-bunnies-a-drawing-in-pen-and-ink-with-watercolour/DQEnktGEHYojdQ?hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
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{{blockquote|Beatrix Potter was the first to recognise that content—as we now call the stuff that makes up a book or a film—was only the beginning. In 1903, Peter hopped outside his pages to become a patented soft toy, which gave him the distinction of being not only Mr. McGregor‘s mortal enemy, but also becoming the first licensed character.|
Erica Wagner of ''[[The Times]]''.<ref name="Times"/>}}

In 1903, Potter created the first [[Peter Rabbit]] [[soft toy]] and registered him at the [[Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)|Patent Office]] in London, making Peter the oldest licensed fictional character.<ref name="Times">{{cite news |title=Peter Rabbit blazed a trail still well trod |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/peter-rabbit-blazed-a-trail-still-well-trod-c9zdfx2c6nk |access-date=6 October 2022 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref><ref>"First edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit sells for £43k at auction". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2022. In 1903 Peter Rabbit became the first literary character in the world to be licensed and turned into a doll.</ref> Merchandise of Peter and other Potter characters have been sold at [[Harrods]] department store in London since at least 1910 when the range first appeared in their catalogues.<ref>{{cite news |title=Peter Rabbit hops into Harrods in film affiliation |url=https://www.luxurydaily.com/peter-rabbit-hops-into-harrods-in-film-affiliation/ |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Luxury Daily}}</ref> Along with her writing Potter would continue to oversee merchandising and licensing opportunities for her characters.<ref name="Merch">{{cite news |last=Eccleshare |first=Julia |title=Peter Rabbit Turns 100 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20020422/30115-peter-rabbit-turns-100.html |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Publishers Weekly |date=22 April 2002}}</ref> On her legacy, Nicholas Tucker in ''[[The Guardian]]'' writes, "she was the first author to license fictional characters to a range of toys and household objects still on sale today".<ref>{{cite news |title=Happy birthday Beatrix Potter: the author's legacy 150 years on |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/28/beatrix-potter-peter-rabbit-tale-kitty-in-boots-150-anniversary |access-date=6 October 2022 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In an article by the ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' magazine titled,  ''How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising'', Joy Lanzendorfer writes, "Potter was also an entrepreneur and a pioneer in licensing and merchandising literary characters. Potter built a retail empire out of her “bunny book” that is worth $500 million today. In the process, she created a system that continues to benefit all licensed characters, from Mickey Mouse to Harry Potter."<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite news |title=How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-beatrix-potter-invented-character-merchandising-180961979/ |access-date=6 October 2022 |work=Smithsonian}}</ref>

The largest public collection of her letters and drawings is the Leslie Linder Bequest and Leslie Linder Collection at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London. (Linder was the collector who—after five years of work—finally transcribed Potter's early journal, originally written in code.) In the United States, the largest public collections are those in the Rare Book Department of the [[Free Library of Philadelphia]], and the [[Cotsen Children's Library]] at [[Princeton University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libwww.freelibrary.org/collections/index.cfm|title=Beatrix Potter collection|website=Free Library of Philadelphia|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721004811/https://libwww.freelibrary.org/collections/index.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{multiple image|direction=vertical|align=right
 | width     = 180
 | image1    = Peter Rabbit (28606915355).jpg
 | caption1  = British [[Fifty pence (British coin)|fifty pence coin]] reverse in 2016 with a depiction of Peter Rabbit, marking the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.<ref name="Coin">{{cite news| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-35684900| title= Royal Mint: Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit on new 50p coin |quote= Four coins will be made featuring different characters from her stories, and a special collector's 50p coin showing a colour image of Peter Rabbit will also be released.| date= 29 February 2016| website= BBC.co.uk| publisher= BBC News| access-date= August 30, 2017}}</ref>
 | image2    = Peter rabbit (121473298).jpg
 | caption2  = Peter Rabbit commemoration in East 21st Street, New York City
}}

In 2015, a manuscript for an unpublished book was discovered by Jo Hanks, a publisher at Penguin Random House Children's Books, in the Victoria and Albert Museum archive. The book ''[[The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots]]'', with illustrations by [[Quentin Blake]],<ref name="kitty in boots">{{cite news|title=Beatrix Potter story Kitty-in-Boots discovered after 100 years|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35407846|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=26 January 2016|access-date=26 January 2016|archive-date=26 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126090625/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35407846|url-status=live}}</ref> was published 1 September 2016, to mark the 150th anniversary of Potter's birth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/entertainment/new-beatrix-potter-kitty-in-boots/index.html|date=26 January 2016|title=Long-lost Beatrix Potter tale, 'Kitty-in-Boots,' rediscovered|author=Jones, Bryony|work=CNN|access-date=3 February 2016|archive-date=4 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204131912/http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/entertainment/new-beatrix-potter-kitty-in-boots/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 2016, Peter Rabbit was depicted on the reverse of a British [[Fifty pence (British coin)|fifty pence coin]], and Peter along with other Potter characters featured on a [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2010–2019#2016|series of UK postage stamps]] issued by the [[Royal Mail]].<ref name="Coin"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36903865|title=Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbitt and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle on anniversary stamps |date=28 July 2016|access-date=4 September 2016|work=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2017, ''The Art of Beatrix Potter: Sketches, Paintings, and Illustrations'' by Emily Zach was published after San Francisco publisher [[Chronicle Books]] decided to mark the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter's birth by showing that she was "far more than a 19th-century weekend painter. She was an artist of astonishing range."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/entertainment/2017/01/02/beyond-peter-rabbit.html |title=Beyond Peter Rabbit |work=The Hamilton Spectator |last=Gwinn |first=Mary Ann |date=2 January 2017 |access-date=16 February 2022}}</ref>

In December 2017, the asteroid [[13975 Beatrixpotter]], discovered by Belgian astronomer [[Eric Elst]] in 1992, was renamed in her memory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=13975#content|title=13975 Beatrixpotter (1992 BP2)|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|access-date=21 February 2019|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222110741/https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=13975#content|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, an exhibition, ''Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature'', was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Research for the exhibition identified the man's court waistcoat c. 1780s, which inspired Potter's sketch in ''The Tailor of Gloucester''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=V&A · Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature - Exhibition at South Kensington |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/beatrix-potter-drawn-to-nature |access-date=11 May 2022 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, the exhibition traveled to the [[Morgan Library & Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature {{!}} The Morgan Library & Museum |url=https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/drawn-to-nature |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=www.themorgan.org}}</ref>

==Analysis==
There are many interpretations of Potter's literary work, the sources of her art, and her life and times. These include critical evaluations of her corpus of children's literature and [[Modernism|Modernist]] interpretations of [[Humphrey Carpenter]] and Katherine Chandler. Judy Taylor, ''That Naughty Rabbit: Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit'' (rev. 2002) tells the story of the first publication and many editions.<ref>Taylor, et al., (2009) ''The Artist and Her World''. Considers Potter's career and life in chapters arranged thematically; ''The Pitkin Guide to Beatrix Potter''.</ref>

Potter's country life, her farming and role as a landscape preservationist are discussed in the work of Matthew Kelly, ''The Women Who Saved the English Countryside'' (2022).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Matthew |title=The Women Who Saved the English Countryside |date=2022 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-300-27039-6}}</ref> See also Susan Denyer and authors in the publications of [[National Trust|The National Trust]], such as ''Beatrix Potter at Home in the Lake District'' (2004).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Denyer |first1=Susan |title=Beatrix Potter at Home in the Lake District |date=2004 |publisher=Frances Lincoln in association with the National Trust |location=London |isbn=9780711223813 |oclc=56645528}}</ref>

Potter's work as a scientific illustrator and her work in mycology are discussed in [[Linda Lear]]'s books ''Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature'' (2006)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lear |first1=Linda |title=Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature |date=2006 |publisher=Allan Lane |isbn=9780711223813 |oclc=851985653}}</ref> and ''Beatrix Potter: The Extraordinary Life of a Victorian Genius'' (2008).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lear |first1=Linda |title=Beatrix Potter: The Extraordinary Life of a Victorian Genius |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=9780141003108 |oclc=901925986}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jan/07/biography.features|title=Review: Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear|last=McCrum|first=Robert|date=7 January 2007|work=The Observer|access-date=24 February 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712|archive-date=25 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225103058/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jan/07/biography.features|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Adaptations==

In 1971, a ballet film was released, ''[[The Tales of Beatrix Potter]]'', directed by Reginald Mills, set to music by [[John Lanchbery]] with choreography by [[Frederick Ashton]], and performed in character costume by members of the [[Birmingham Royal Ballet|Royal Ballet]] and the [[Royal Opera House]] orchestra.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Craine |first1=D. |last2=Mackrell |first2=J. |chapter=Tales of Beatrix Potter |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Dance |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199563449 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199563449.001.0001/acref-9780199563449-e-2289 |access-date=27 February 2019 |archive-date=28 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228070030/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199563449.001.0001/acref-9780199563449-e-2289 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ballet of the same name has been performed by other dance companies around the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tales of Beatrix Potter |url=http://www.balletbase.com/performances/tales-of-beatrix-potter-a |website=Internet Ballet Database |access-date=27 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228130346/http://www.balletbase.com/performances/tales-of-beatrix-potter-a |archive-date=28 February 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1992, Potter's children's book ''[[The Tale of Benjamin Bunny]]'' was featured in the film ''[[Lorenzo's Oil]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lorenzo's Oil (1992) – Full Credits |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81834/lorenzos-oil#credits |website=TCMDB |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=26 March 2019 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091310/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81834/Lorenzo-s-Oil/full-credits.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Potter is also featured in [[Susan Wittig Albert]]'s series of light mysteries called ''The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter''. The first of the eight-book series is ''Tale of Hill Top Farm'' (2004), which deals with Potter's life in the [[Lake District]] and the village of [[Near and Far Sawrey|Near Sawrey]] between 1905 and 1913.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cottage Tales|url=http://www.cottagetales.com/books/index.shtml|publisher=Susan Wittig Albert|access-date=13 June 2010|archive-date=17 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917195218/http://cottagetales.com/books/index.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

==In film==
[[File:Renee Zellweger (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Renée Zellweger]] (who starred as Beatrix Potter) at the premiere of ''[[Miss Potter]]'' in December 2006]]

In 1982, the [[BBC]] produced ''The Tale of Beatrix Potter''. This dramatization of her life was written by [[John Hawkesworth (producer)|John Hawkesworth]], directed by Bill Hayes, and starred [[Holly Aird]] and [[Penelope Wilton]] as the young and adult Potter, respectively. ''[[The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends]]'', a TV series based on fourteen of her twenty-four stories, starred actress [[Niamh Cusack]] as Beatrix Potter.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials, Volume 2|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|publisher=McFarland|year=2008|isbn=978-0786433056|location=New York |pages=405}}</ref>

In 1993, [[Weston Woods Studios]] made an almost hour non-story film called ''Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman'' with narration by [[Lynn Redgrave]]. In 2006, [[Chris Noonan]] directed ''[[Miss Potter]]'', a biographical film of Potter's life focusing on her early career and romance with her editor [[Norman Warne]]. The film stars [[Renée Zellweger]] as Beatrix Potter, [[Ewan McGregor]] as Norman Warne, and [[Emily Watson]] as Warne's sister.<ref>{{Cite news|title='Miss Potter' draws on enchantment |last=Puig|first=Claudia|date=29 December 2009|work=USA Today}}</ref>

On 9 February 2018, Columbia Pictures released ''[[Peter Rabbit (film)|Peter Rabbit]]'', directed by Will Gluck, based on the work by Potter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/peter-rabbit-review-1202686875/|title=Film Review: 'Peter Rabbit'|last=Debruge|first=Peter|date=18 February 2018|work=Variety|access-date=8 March 2019|archive-date=8 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308185644/https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/peter-rabbit-review-1202686875/|url-status=live}}</ref> The character Bea, played by [[Rose Byrne]], is a re-imagined version of Potter.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shepherd|first1=Jack|title=Rose Byrne talks Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter, and working with CGI|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/rose-byrne-peter-rabbit-beatrix-potter-cgi-a8270256.html|access-date=16 June 2021|work=[[The Independent]]|date=23 March 2018|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200817/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/rose-byrne-peter-rabbit-beatrix-potter-cgi-a8270256.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A sequel to the film titled ''[[Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway]]'' was released in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|title=Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway|url=https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/peter-rabbit-2-the-runaway/|website=Flicks.com.au|access-date=20 March 2021|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306004810/https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/peter-rabbit-2-the-runaway/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 24 December 2020, [[Sky One]] premiered ''[[Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse]]'', a [[television film|made-for-television]] [[drama (film and television)|drama film]] inspired by the true story of a six-year-old [[Roald Dahl]] meeting his idol Potter.<ref>{{cite news |title=First look at Roald & Beatrix starring Dawn French with special cameo from Bill Bailey, 17 November 2020 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/comedy/2020-11-17/roald-and-beatrix-dawn-french-bill-bailey-news/ |access-date=26 December 2020 |publisher=Radio Times |archive-date=20 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220194802/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/comedy/2020-11-17/roald-and-beatrix-dawn-french-bill-bailey-news/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=When is Roald and Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse on TV?, 30 November 2020 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-11-30/roald-beatrix-tail-of-curious-mouse-release-date/ |access-date=26 December 2020 |publisher=Radio Times |archive-date=21 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221150136/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-11-30/roald-beatrix-tail-of-curious-mouse-release-date/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Roald & Beatrix is a slow-burning, yet heart-warming Christmas tonic for fans of all ages, 24 December 2020 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-12-24/roald-and-beatrix-sky-review/ |access-date=26 December 2020 |publisher=Radio Times |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224235431/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-12-24/roald-and-beatrix-sky-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Set in 1922, the movie was written by [[Abigail Wilson]], directed by [[David Kerr (director)|David Kerr]] and starred [[Dawn French]] as Beatrix Potter, [[Rob Brydon]] as William Heelis and [[Jessica Hynes]] as Sofie Dahl. Filming took place in [[Wales]], the birthland of Dahl, French and Brydon. This production incorporates [[live action]], [[stop motion]], and puppetry. The DVD was released on 26 April 2021.<ref>{{cite news |title=Roald & Beatrix - The Tail of the Curious Mouse |url=https://hmv.com/store/film-tv/dvd/roald-beatrix-the-tail-of-the-curious-mouse |access-date=11 May 2023 |agency=HMV}}</ref>

==Publications==
=== The 23 Tales ===
# ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]'' (privately printed, 250 copies, 1901; printed in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902)
#''[[The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin]]'' (1903)
#''[[The Tailor of Gloucester]]'' (privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1903)
#''[[The Tale of Benjamin Bunny]]'' (1904)
#''[[The Tale of Two Bad Mice]]'' (1904)
#''[[The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle]]'' (1905)
#''[[The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan]]'' (1905)
#''[[The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher]]'' (1906)
#''[[The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit]]'' (1906)
#''[[The Story of Miss Moppet]]'' (1906)
#''[[The Tale of Tom Kitten]]'' (1907)
#''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck]]'' (1908)
#''[[The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding|The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or, The Roly-Poly Pudding]]'' (1908)
#''[[The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies]]'' (1909)
#''[[The Tale of Ginger and Pickles]]'' (1909)
#''[[The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse]]'' (1910)
#''[[The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes]]'' (1911)
#''[[The Tale of Mr. Tod]]'' (1912)
#''[[The Tale of Pigling Bland]]'' (1913)
#''[[Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes]]'' (1917)
#''[[The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse]]'' (1918)
#''[[Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes]]'' (1922)
#''[[The Tale of Little Pig Robinson]]'' (1930)

===Other books===
#''Peter Rabbit's Painting Book'' (1911)
#''Tom Kitten's Painting Book'' (1917)
#''Jemima Puddle-Duck's Painting Book'' (1925)
#''Peter Rabbit's Almanac for 1929'' (1928)
#''[[The Fairy Caravan]]'' (1929)
#''Sister Anne'' (illustrated by Katharine Sturges) (1932)
#''Wag-by-Wall'' (decorations by [[J. J. Lankes]]) (1944)
#''The Tale of the Faithful Dove'' (illustrated by [[Marie Angel (artist)|Marie Angel]]) (1955, 1970)
#''[[The Sly Old Cat]]'' (written 1906; first published 1971)
#''The Tale of Tuppenny'' (illustrated by Marie Angel) (1973)
#''[[The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots]]'' (2016)<ref name="kitty in boots"/> (Illustrated by [[Quentin Blake]].)
#''[[Red Riding Hood]]'' (2019) (Illustrated by [[Helen Oxenbury]].)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooksby=yes}}

===Letters, journals and writing collections===

*{{cite book|last=Potter|first=Beatrix|title=Beatrix Potter's Americans: Selected Letters|year=1982|publisher=The Horn Book, Inc|isbn=978-0-87675-282-1|editor=Jane Crowell Morse|url=https://archive.org/details/beatrixpottersam0000pott}}
*{{cite book|last=Potter|first=Beatrix|title=Beatrix Potter's Letters|url=https://archive.org/details/beatrixpottersle0000pott|url-access=registration|year=1992|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-3437-1|editor=Judy Taylor}}
*{{cite book|last=Potter|first=Beatrix|title=Letters to Children from Beatrix Potter|year=1992|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-4195-9|editor=Judy Taylor}}
*{{cite book|last=Potter|first=Beatrix|title=Dear Ivy, Dear June: Letters from Beatrix Potter|year=1977|publisher=Toronto Public Library|isbn=978-0-8037-2050-3|editor=Margaret Crawford Maloney|url=https://archive.org/details/mydearnoelstoryo00john}}
* Potter, Beatrix. (rev. 1989). ''The Journal of Beatrix Potter, 1881–1897'', transcribed from her code writings by Leslie Linder. F. Warne & Co. {{ISBN|978-0-7232-3625-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Potter|first=Beatrix|title=A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter|year=1987|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-3562-0|editor=Leslie Linder}}

===Art studies===
*{{cite book |author=Hobbs, Anne Stevenson |year=1989 |title=Beatrix Potter's Art |publisher=F. Warne & Co |isbn=0-7232-3598-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/beatrixpottersar00pott }}
*{{cite book|last=Hobbs|first=Anne Stevenson|title=Beatrix Potter's Art|year=1990|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-3598-9|url=https://archive.org/details/beatrixpottersar00pott}}
*{{cite book|last=Hobbs|first=Anne Stevenson|title=Beatrix Potter: Artist and Illustrator|year=2005|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-5700-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Jay|first=Eileen | first2=Mary | last2=Noble | first3=Anne | last3=Stevenson Hobbs|title=A Victorian Naturalist: Beatrix Potter's Drawings from the Armitt Collection|year=1992|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-3990-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Judy | first2=Joyce Irene | last2=Whalley | first3=Anne | last3=Stevenson Hobbs | first4=Elizabeth M. | last4=Battrick|title=Beatrix Potter, 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World|year=1987|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-3561-3|url=https://archive.org/details/beatrixpotter18600tayl}}

===Biographical studies===

*{{cite book|last=Mainetti|first=Riccardo|title=Finding Beatrix Potter|year=2021|publisher=flower-ed|isbn=9788885628915
}}
*{{cite book|last=Battrick|first=Elizabeth|title=Beatrix Potter: The Unknown Years|year=1999|publisher=Armitt Library and Museum and F.Warne & Co.|isbn=978-0-7232-4608-4
}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Delaney|first1=Frank|author-link1=Frank Delaney|title=The Tale of Beatrix Potter|journal=[[The Public Domain Review]]|date=23 July 2014|volume=4|issue=15|url=http://publicdomainreview.org/2014/07/23/the-tale-of-beatrix-potter/|quote=This year (2014), the works of one of the most successful and universal writers of all time came into the public domain in many countries around the world. |access-date=23 July 2014}}
*{{cite book|last=Denyer|first=Susan|title=Beatrix Potter: At Home with Beatrix Potter: The Creator of Peter Rabbit|url=https://archive.org/details/athomewithbeatri00deny|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Harry Abrams|isbn=978-0-7112-3018-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Gristwood|first=Sarah|author-link1=Sarah Gristwood|title=The Story of Beatrix Potter|year=2016|publisher=Pavilion Books|isbn=9781909881808}}
*{{cite book|last=Heelis|first=John|title=The Tale of Mrs William Heelis – Beatrix Potter|year=1999|publisher=Sutton Publishing|isbn=978-0-7509-3432-9
}}
*{{cite book|last=Kelly|first=Matthew|title=The Women Who Saved the English Countryside|year=2022|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-27039-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Lane|first=Margaret|title=The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography|date=2001|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-4676-3|edition=Revised}}
*{{cite book|last=Lane|first=Margaret|title=The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter|year=1978|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-2108-1|url=https://archive.org/details/magicyearsofbeat00lane}}
*{{cite book|last=Lear|first=Linda|title=Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature|year=2007|publisher=St. Martin's|isbn=978-0-312-36934-7|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312369347}}
*{{cite book|last=Lear|first=Linda|title=Beatrix Potter: The Extraordinary Life of a Victorian Genius|year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-100310-8
}}
*{{cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Ruth K|title=Beatrix Potter|year=1986|publisher=Twayne Publishers|isbn=978-0-8057-6917-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/beatrixpotter0000macd}}
*{{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=W.R.|title=Beatrix Potter: Her Lakeland Years|year=2010|publisher=Great Northern Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-905080-71-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Judy|title=Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller and Countrywoman|year=1996|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-4175-1|edition=Revised}}
*{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Judy|title=That Naughty Rabbit: Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit|year=2002|publisher=F. Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-4767-8}}
*{{cite book|title='So I Shall Tell You a Story...': Encounters with Beatrix Potter|year=1993|publisher=F.Warne & Co|isbn=978-0-7232-4025-9|editor=Taylor, Judy|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/soishalltellyous0000unse}}
*{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Judy |title=Potter, (Helen) Beatrix (1866–1943) |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35584 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713012242/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35584 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 July 2016 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=14 January 2007 }}

==External links==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Beatrix Potter}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/beatrix-potter}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101126154132/http://linnean.org/fileadmin/images/Beatrix_Potter/BPotter_fossils.pdf Beatrix Potter's fossils and her interest in geology – B. G. Gardiner]
* {{Gutenberg author |id=292| name=Beatrix Potter}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Potter, Helen Beatrix|name=Beatrix Potter|author=yes}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Beatrix Potter}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1049}}
* [http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=potter_beatrix Beatrix Potter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702220348/http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=potter_beatrix |date=2 July 2020 }} at the [[The Encyclopedia of Fantasy|Encyclopedia of Fantasy]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090505073415/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/potter/index.html Collection of Potter materials] at [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061212025728/http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/enroom/illustrators/potter.htm Beatrix Potter online feature] at the [[University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences]]
* [http://www.beatrixpottersociety.org.uk/ Beatrix Potter Society, UK]
* [http://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/potter/default.asp Exhibition of Beatrix Potter's Picture Letters at the Morgan Library]; [https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/drawn-to-nature Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum]
* [https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/search/?subcollection=151 Beatrix Potter Collection] (digitized images from the [[Free Library of Philadelphia]])

{{Beatrix Potter}}
{{The Tale of Peter Rabbit}}
{{Victorian children's literature}}
{{Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame |2010–2019}}
{{Authority control}}
{{portal bar|Children's literature|Biography}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Beatrix}}
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