This was okay, and I feel like I have a better picture of how Beatrix Potter grew up, but it wasn't super engaging. I found my attention drifting, and I think the writing style just wasn't for me. ( )

Beloved children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter lived a repressed life due to parental control until she finally purchased her own home with profits from the sales of her books. She later married. Both her parents were artistic. Her father sketched; her mother used watercolors. Some of the early influences for her characters came from her fathers' sketches, but one can also see the influence of her mother's watercolors. An appendix showcases some of Beatrix's artwork. The biography did not follow a chronological approach, and it skipped around so much that it made it difficult to follow. Readability suffers because of academic verbiage. The author conducted extensive research in manuscripts and archival collections. ( )

Famous for her many ‘little books’ such as Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, Beatrix Potter’s life has been extensively documented. For those who don’t know where to begin I recommend this short biography. Each chapter smoothly moves through the stages in Potter’s life with frequent direct quotations from her own journals, which she kept meticulously. Dennison also parallels the characters and instances in Potter’s stories with her own life. We learn about her childhood zoo of pet animals, including reptiles and bats, and her obsession with the various species of fungi she would draw with exact detail—the love of detail which carries over into her illustrations for the little books.

At a time when young women were expected to marry, Potter’s over-protective (or perhaps slightly selfish) parents sought to keep her home as much as possible to assist with the running of the household. The children’s stories which began as letters to young friends developed into a way for her to assert her independence and earn an income of her own from which she later bought a farm in the Lake District. This biography goes wonderfully well with The Art of Beatrix Potter:Sketches, Paintings, and Illustrations by Emily Zach, recently published by Chronicle Books.

Elizabeth L. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

( )

As I've matured as a reader (I like that phrase so much better than as I've aged) I have come to realize how much of themselves an author puts into their writing. Could be something they saw, an incident about which they read, their pasts, upbringing, opinions on a particular matter. Most often though there is something in the case of Potter it is all. Had she had a different upbringing her wonderful stories would probably not exis.

Domineering parents, not allowed access to friends her own age, with the exception of her younger brother, her beloved pets, her love of the natural world, literature, her imagination and her art, all served to make her who she was, what she became. Throughout her life she persevered, often in ill health, failing eyesight, her parents attempts to keep her under their control, determined to have her own life. All this comes across in this book, ably chronicled and written with a great deal of respect.

There were a few things I found bothersome, at times frustrating, wish had been done differently. The skipping around chronology, I would have preferred a straightforward timeliness, but that is not this book. The second, is the constant , I think overdone, comparisons of incidents in her life compared to the characters in her

One such example, "Beatrix's own accounts were disordered, I am completely at large about the position & I filled in income tax at random'. Given her customary astutness and a financial sharpness to match that of TabithaTwitcit shopkeeping in The tale of Ginger and Pickles, it was not a position she relished. Comparisons such as these are liberally inserted throughout. Since it has been many, many years since I have read her tales, they went right over my head and only served to disrupt my mental flow.

I do intend to reread a few of her stories, now that I can apply to them an understanding of her life, but I feel I could have done this on my own, without having them consistently pointed out that me and would have delighted in the experience.

ARC from publisher. ( )

The cover’s watercolor catches one’s eye bringing forth remembrances of illustrations from Beatrix Potter tales. As readers turn pages, they discover not a fairy tale but the life of a writer of works that have captivated children all over the world. Unlike the colorful and whimsical world Potter drew, her childhood home where she lived half her life was not a place of warmth and adventure. Spartan at best, she was confined and often left alone to amuse herself. It is during this time that her relationship with her father depended upon a love of art, sketching, and nature. Private teachers encouraged her interest in art and allowed her time to draw. Her attention to detail came from observing nature rather an overactive imagination. Letters to her governess’s sick children ultimately became the basis for The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Her private printing of the book established her career as a writer and illustrator. She remained alone until her marriage to William Heelis at age 47. Her wealth from the books allowed her to accumulate farmland and protect it from developers. At her death, more than 4,000 acres was bequest to the National Trust along with an endowment. Although she never has children of her own, her tales brought comfort to many a child at bedtime. Her donation to the National Trust remains a living testament to her love of nature. The author relied heavily on the Journal of Beatrix Potter to write this biography. Extensive chapter notes credit source material used in this academic portrayal. His depictions show the compassion, sadness, and love as seen through Potter’s eyes. Dennison accurately reflects society’s expectations for a female in that class during the late 1880 through early 1940s. He also included an author note, bibliography, list of illustrations, and index.

I received this book free through Net Galley. Although encouraged as a courtesy to provide feedback to the publisher, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )