Story of Beatrix Potter
A smaller, cheaper edition of this acclaimed illustrated biography of Beatrix Potter. Respected biographer Sarah Gristwood discovers a life crisscrossed with contradictions and marked by tragedy, yet one that left a remarkable literary – and environmental – legacy.
This illustrated biography of the beloved writer has been a strong seller and critical success. It is now available in a smaller, more affordable format. Interest in Beatrix Potter and her characters is undimmed, with the second Peter Rabbit film being released in summer 2021 and an exhibition at the V&A from February 2022, 'Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature'.
Few people realise how extraordinary Beatrix Potter's own story is. She was a woman of contradictions. A sheltered Victorian daughter who grew into an astute modern businesswoman. A talented artist who became a scientific expert. A famous author who gave it all up to become a farmer, then a pioneering conservationist.
Bestselling biographer Sarah Gristwood follows the twists and turns of Beatrix Potter’s life and its key turning points – including her tragically brief first engagement and happy second marriage late in life. She traces the creation of Beatrix’s most famous characters – including the naughty Peter Rabbit, confused Jemima Puddleduck and cheeky Squirrel Nutkin – revealing how she drew on her unusual childhood pets and locations in her beloved Lake District.
A fitting legacy for a pioneering conservationist who helped save thousands of acres of the Lake District.’ – The Mail on Sunday
‘Excellent, anecdotal text…’ – The Times Literary Supplement
‘Beautifully illustrated.’ – The Sunday Express
Sarah Gristwood is a best-selling Tudor biographer, former film journalist, and commentator on royal affairs. She has appeared in most of the UK’s leading newspapers and magazines.She wrote two bestselling Tudor biographies, Arbella: England’s Lost Queen and Elizabeth and Leicester; and the eighteenth-century story Perdita: Royal Mistress, Writer, Romantic which was selected as a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. A regular media commentator on royal and historical affairs, Sarah was one of the team providing BBC Radio 4’s live coverage of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and an Honororary Patron of Historic Royal Palaces.