Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter intended to share her creations with children. She instructed that her books be published in a tiny size, for small hands and large minds to hold. A price affordable with colors to inspire. One young man that Beatrix inspired was C.S. Lewis. The biography of C.S. Lewis details that until he read Beatrix Potter books, he lived unaware of beauty.

Beatrix Potter was born in Kensington, London on July 28, 1866. Educated at home by a succession of governesses, she had little opportunity to mix with other children. Even Potter's younger brother, Bertram, was rarely at home; he was sent to boarding school, leaving Beatrix alone with her pet animals.

Beatrix would watch her pets for hours on end, sketching them. Gradually the sketches became better and better, developing her talents from an early age. Potter's father, Rupert William Potter (1832-1914), although trained as a barrister, (attorney) spent his days at gentlemen's clubs and rarely practiced law. Her mother, Helen Potter née Leech (1839-1932), the daughter of a cotton merchant, spent her time visiting or receiving visitors. The family was supported by both parents' inherited incomes. When Beatrix came of age, her parents appointed her their housekeeper and discouraged any intellectual development, instead requiring her to supervise the household.

From the age of 15 until she was past 30, she recorded her everyday life in journals, using her own secret code (which was not decrypted until decades after her death).

Beatrix struggled to find a publisher. When she was 36 in 1902, Frederick Warne & Co agreed to publish Peter Rabbitt. The small book and her following works were extremely well received and she gained an independent income from the sales. She also became secretly engaged to the publisher, Norman Warne, but her parents were set against her marrying a tradesman. Their opposition to the wedding caused a breach between Beatrix and her parents. However, the wedding was not to be, for soon after the engagement, Norman fell ill of pernicious anemia and died within a few weeks. Beatrix was devastated. She wrote in a letter to his sister, Millie, "He did not live long, but he fulfilled a useful happy life. I must try to make a fresh beginning next year."

Potter eventually wrote 23 books. These were published in a small format, easy for a child to hold and read. Her writing efforts abated around 1920 due to poor eyesight. The Tale of Little Pig Robinson was published in 1930.