Between the ages of 15 and 30 Beatrix Potter kept a secret diary written in code. When the code was cracked by Leslie Linder more than 20 years after her death, the diary revealed a remarkable picture of upper middle-class life in late Victorian Britain. The original diaries run to over 200,000 words so for this edition Glen Cavaliero has made a careful selection of complete entries and excerpts which provide an illuminating insight into the personality and inspiration of one of the world's best loved children's authors.
Beatrix Potter was born on July 28, 1866, at No. 2, Bolton Gardens, Kensington, London. Beatrix Potter discovered her love of nature on annual summer holidays in Scotland and the Lake District.
On September 4, 1893, Beatrix sat down to write a picture letter to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her ex-governess, all about a naughty rabbit called Peter. Noel was ill in bed and so Beatrix wrote to him: "My dear Noel, I don't know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits. . . . "
Some years later, Beatrix thought of publishing the story as a book. She rewrote it into an exercise book and sent it to six publishers. It was rejected by every one of them. It was not until Beatrix had printed the book herself that Frederick Warne agreed to publish it. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902, costing one shilling (the equivalent of just 5 pence today), and became one of the most famous stories ever written.
Many of Beatrix's later books were set at Hill Top—the rats that infested the farm inspired The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, Tom Kitten and his sisters climb up the rockery wall at the bottom of Hill Top garden, and Ginger and Pickles.
