Customer Reviews

The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography

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The late Margaret Lane, President of The Women's Press Club, the Dickens Fellowship, the Johnson Society, the Brontė Society and the Jane Austen Society has written this charming little book about Beatrix Potter.

Beatrix Potter's life was a very private one, carefully hidden from the public eye, although she is known and loved by generations of children. Her life began in joylessness and solitude, with drawing as her one fascination.

In the book we follow Beatrix Potter through her sad childhood, her struggle for independence, her illfated love affair and happy marriage, and we learn about how she created all these charming and whimsical characters - Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Tom Kitten and so many more. The book is illustrated with old photographs, and pen and ink illustrations by Beatrix Potter herself. A must for any Beatrix Potter lover.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

When I first began this book, I was a bit skeptical. I wasnt sure at all that I could make it through the whole thing. But after a few chapters, I found myself falling in love with Miss Potter. It is a great story, for unlike most biographies I have read, It ends on a happy note. Her final years were much better than her first.

I have always been interested in Beatrix Potter for several reasons. Growing up, I was pretty reclusive and with few friends but to become an accomplished author in a male dominated field, is amazing. Since she was so reclusive, it's very hard to find anything written about her personal life. This book details her life as much as possible but I found it very hard to get through. I had to attempt it several times. I feel the principle reasons are the writing style of the British author, Margaret Lane and the time, 1945- 1946, the book was written/published. I had to read it all at once in one afternoon. I feel it makes a good addition to my collection.

Family and friends made Beatrix Potter's personal correspondence available to Margaret Lane after Ms. Hellis's death in 1944.
As a result Beatrix tells her own story with the help of the delicate pen of Margaret Lane.
A fascinating biography of a beloved children's author, who's books still enchant children 100 years after they were written.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS

Like so many others, I saw "Miss Potter" and was charmed by the story. It piqued my interest in Beatrix Potter, the Victorian author who led a lonely childhood but went on to marry late in life and find happiness, not to mention great success as an author and illustrator. This book didn't shed a lot of light on Beatrix Potter, the woman, in my opinion. Obviously her books are an important part of her story, but I thought this biography focused too much on her books and supporting characters in her life. Also, as another reviewer pointed out, it was rather hard to get through. It moved slowly and I felt like I had to force myself to finish it. The fact that it was relatively short did help in that regard. From what I understand, very little is known about Mrs. Heelis (Beatrix Potter's married name) and her private life, which probably means that writing a biography on her was even more of a challenge than it would have been.