Beatrix Potter Society
| Helen Beatrix Potter | |
|---|---|
Potter in 1913
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| Born | Helen Beatrix Potter July 28, 1866 Kensington, London, United Kingdom |
| Died |
22 December 1943 (aged 77) Near Sawrey, Cumbria, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Children's author and illustrator |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | The Tale of Peter Rabbit |
| Spouse | William Heelis (m. 1913–43; her death) |
Helen Beatrix Potter (British English /ˈbiːətrɪks/, North American English also /ˈbiːtrɪks/, 28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Born into an upper-class household, Potter was educated by governesses 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.
Though Potter was typical of women of her generation in having limited opportunities for higher education, her 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.
In all, Potter wrote thirty books; the best known being her twenty-three children's tales. With the proceeds from the books and a legacy from an aunt, in 1905 Potter bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey, a village in the Lake District, which at that time was in Lancashire. 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, a respected local solicitor from Hawkshead. Potter was also a prize-winning breeder of Herdwick sheep and a prosperous farmer keenly interested in land preservation. She continued to write and illustrate, and to design spin-off merchandise based on her children's books for British publisher Warne, until the duties of land management and her diminishing eyesight made it difficult to continue.
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