If you have ever as a young child enjoyed the Tale of Peter Rabbit or any of the other animal stories written by Beatrix Potter, or read the books to your children or grandchildren, you will enjoy this book. You may remember the scenes in the stories were set in the farms and gardens of the English countryside. This book will take you back to those scenes.
Part One tells a fascinating story. It covers the different stages of Beatrix Potter’s life:
Her childhood
Her life as a young woman constrained by the role of single women in the late 19th century
Her maturity and development of a career as an artist, an author, and a gardener
The death of her fiancé
Her marriage later in life
Her acquisition of Lake District real property and the development of her gardens
Her life as a widow
Her gift of her Lake District property to the National Trust in her will
Photographs throughout the book document the life of Beatrix Potter, her family and friends from her childhood through the development of her career, her marriage, and widowhood.
Part Two describes a year in Beatrix Potter’s gardens on her various properties. Part Three describes how visitors may see the gardens as they are today at some of the British properties where she lived.
I found the stories in Part One and the photographs of Beatrix’s properties and other Lake District sites along with the many illustrations in the book the best parts of this book. Beatrix Potter’s illustrations in her stories were created in watercolor and/or ink mediums. The story illustrations and the other drawings and paintings in the book are quite fascinating.
It’s as though you’re visiting Peter Rabbit, all over again.
Holly Sparrow, Headwaters Master Gardener