Cumbria Trip and Beatrix Potter

Friday, after work, I went to Blockbuster to rent this movie...Miss Potter. It was released in 2006 and filmed in London, Scotland, Isle of Man and the Lakes District. Both of us liked the movie and thought the extra's were just great.

Here are some interesting facts of her life: Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943) grew up in a privileged home in London. Her parents were social climbers who lived off their mutually inherited wealth. Her father was a barrister who rarely practiced law. The movie was somewhat sympathetic to her father, less so to her mother. She had an isolated childhood and was mostly raised by governesses. Her only sibling, Bertram was 6 years younger than she and sent to boarding school at an early age. The fact her education was not encouraged, due to her gender, was common at the time. She frustrated her parents by turning down all the eligible and "acceptable" young men. She loved animals, nature and science. She kept a diary from the age of 15 until well into her 30's. She wrote in code in this diary which was not de-coded until 20 years after her death.

Her life story is fascinating to me.

Here is one of her illustrations from The Tale of Two Bad Mice. This was her 5th book which was published in 1904. According to what I read today on the internet, the real inspiration for this book was Norman Warne's (her publisher and secret fiancee) niece's dollhouse. The movie portrayed Beatrix's childhood dollhouse as the inspiration for this book. Most of the movie's misrepresentation criticism's were fairly benign ones like this.

The part about Norman being her secret fiancee is true. The secrecy was a compromise her parents proposed. They did not want her to marry someone out of her class and asked her to keep the engagement secret until she returned from their summer holiday at the Lakes. Norman died of leukemia while she was away. Another criticism of the movie was that it misrepresented how he died. In the movie Norman's sister describes his symptoms as coughing a lot which apparently is not a symptom of this disease. In the movie Norman and Beatrix's last scene together has him dripping wet from rain at the railroad station saying goodbye to her as she leaves for her summer holiday.

Above is an illustration of Peter Rabbit and his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail. The Tales of Peter Rabbit was her first book. A third criticism of the movie is that it did not explain that she actually paid to publish this book first and the Warne Brothers finally decided to publish after she sold several editions herself. When the Warne's published it in 1902 it sold 28,000 copies. Today this book has sold over 40 million copies in over 35 languages.

The next illustration is Jemima Puddle-duck and the gentleman fox. The Jemima Puddle-duck inspiration from a real duck at Hilltop Farm, her Lakes home she bought in 1905. Another criticism of the misrepresentation in the movie as Jemima's character was introduced in the film during Beatrix's courtship with Norman and in reality Jemima was not developed until far after his death.

The next pictures are sketches she did as a child and a picture of a young Beatrix. It is amazing to think she was this talented and probably not encouraged to do anything with her ability.

When she was 16 her family started going to the Lakes Districta for their summer holidays because the house they rented in Scotland was not available. The first year they stayed at Wray Castle near Ambleside (pictured below).

Beatrix became friends with the Vicar of Wray Church, Hardwicke Rawnsley, who years later would encourage her to publish her first book. This same Vicar was a co-founder of the National Trust which is headquartered at Wray Castle.

When she died in 1943 she left 14 farms and over 4,000 acres of Lakes land to the National Trust.

Anyhow, evidently the Potter family enjoyed their first holiday in the Lakes District as they spent the next 20 or so years summers holidays there in and around Windermere and Derwentwater This next picture is a watercolor she drew of Derwentwater which she later used as backdrop for one of her books.

Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top Farm, (above are pictures of her home on this farm) in 1905. This was her first step towards an independent life which was made possible because of her book sales. Her books The Tale of Tom Kitten and The Tale of Samuel Whiskers were based in and around her farm at Hill Top. Pictured below are the rats rolling Samuel Whiskers in an attempt to make him in to pudding.

In 1913 Beatrix married a local Lakes lawyer, William Heelis. William's hometown was Hawkshead, also the childhood home of William Wadsworth. The building below

was Williams law office which now is a gallery of Beatrix's art.

Below are pictures of the embroidery I have kept for 25 years and never completed. I started this project for my sister who was was pregnant with her first child. I was going on a trip to Europe that summer before my last year in college and this was the project I took to work on in the plane. Her first born child is now in grad school at Purdue.

So, now I think what I will do is embroidery "Jemima Puddle-duck" on the left hand side, above what I've embroidered so far.

Then on the right hand side I'm thinking I will embroider:

She set off on a

fine spring afternoon

along the cart-road

that leads over the hill.

She was wearing a shawl

and a poke bonnet.

Then I will frame it and use for Audrey's shutter bulletin board.