Beatrix Potter 
The Tale of Peter Rabbit illustrated 

The Tale of Peter Rabbit illustrated Beatrix Potter – Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter …’ This are the first words of one of the most famous and most successful children’s books of all times.Beatrix Potter wrote and published it first privately in 1901, since the idea has been turned down by six commercial publishers. One year later finally, a editor discovered the great talent. Having seen a copy, Frederick Warne decided to publish Peter Rabbit, and within a year he already had to produce six editions to meet demand. This was the start of the most successful children’s book series of all times.Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 22 December 1943), the remarkable English author, illustrator, and natural scientist is best known for her children books. But besides that she had many positive influences on others: With the money, earned through her books, she protected endangered animals, she bought and restored many farms in the Lake District, and helped the (English) National Trust to preserve nature and beauty of landscape. In 2006 a film about her life (‘Miss Potter’, Title role: Renée Zellweger) came out.

About the author

Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children’s books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.Born into a wealthy household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets, and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developed a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a woman, her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology.In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and became secretly engaged to her publisher, Norman Warne, causing a breach with her parents, who disapproved of his social status. Warne died before the wedding.Potter eventually published 24 children’s books, the most recent being The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots (2016), 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.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.