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'''Helen Beatrix Potter''' - naskiĝis {{naskiĝdato|1943|12|22|1866|7|28}}, mortis {{mortodato|1943|12|22|1866|7|28}} - estis brita verkistino kaj natursciencistino, kiu plej konatas pro siaj fantaziplenaj infanlibroj de bestaj roluloj. Plej konata verkaĵo estas ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' (la rakonto de Petro la kuniklo) - tiu kaj la aliaj verkaĵoj idealigite temigis la vivadon en brita kampara pejzaĝo.
== Infanaĝo ==
Beatrix Potter naskiĝis en la domo n-ro 2, ''Bolton Gardens'' en la urboparto ''Kensington'' de Londono. En sia hejmo, granda loĝejo de la [[viktoriana epoko]] kun multaj servistoj, ŝin edukis edukistino, kaj ŝi apenaŭ havis kontaktojn kun aliaj infanoj. La ses jarojn pli juna frato, ''Bertram'', estis en internuleja lernejo.
Born into a privileged [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] family, Potter, along with her younger brother, Walter Bertram (1872–1918), grew up with few friends outside her large extended family. Her parents were artistic, interested in nature and enjoyed the countryside. As children, Beatrix and Bertram had numerous small animals as pets which they observed closely and drew endlessly. Summer holidays were spent in Scotland and in the English [[Lake District]] where Beatrix developed a love of the natural world which was the subject of her painting from an early age.
Ŝia patro, ''Rupert William Potter'' (1832–1914), estis advokato, sed apenaŭ plu laboris en sia profesio, sed pasigis plejparton de sia tempo en sinjora klubo. La patrino, ''Helen Potter'', naskonomo ''Leech'' (1839–1932), pasigis grandan parton de sia tempo per akcepto de renomaj gastoj aŭ gastiĝo ĉe ili. Beatrix tial multe estis sola, vidis siajn gepatrojn nur vespere, tuj antaŭ la enlitiĝo, aŭ ĉe apartaj okazoj, kaj anstataŭe pasigis multan tempon kun siaj dombestoj. Inter alie ŝi havis hundon nomatan ''Spaniel Spot'', ranojn kaj du kuniklojn. Ŝia unua kuniklo, sekrete aĉetita kaj en papera saketo kontrabandita en la domon, nomiĝis ''Benjamin Bouncer'', la dua havis la nomon ''Peter''. Peter kaj Benjamin sekve ankaŭ estis la titoloj de ŝiaj unuaj porinfanaj romanoj, en kiuj kunikluj havis la plej gravajn rolojn: ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' (1902) kaj ''The Tale of Benjamin Bunny'' (1904). Ŝi dum multaj horoj observis la bestojn kaj ofte desegnis ilin.
She was educated by private governesses until she was eighteen. Her study of languages, literature, science and history was broad and she was an eager student. Her artistic talents were recognized early. Although she was provided with private art lessons, Potter preferred to develop her own style, particularly favouring watercolour. Along with her drawings of her animals, real and imagined, she illustrated insects, fossils, [[archeology|archeological]] artefacts, and fungi. In the 1890s her [[mycology|mycological]] illustrations and research on the reproduction of fungi spores generated interest from the scientific establishment. Following some success illustrating cards and booklets, Potter wrote and illustrated ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' publishing it first privately in 1901, and a year later as a small, three-colour illustrated book with [[Frederick Warne & Co]]. She became unofficially engaged to her editor [[Norman Warne]] in 1905 despite the disapproval of her parents, but he died suddenly a month later, of leukemia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beatrix Potter Biography on BPotter.com|url=http://www.bpotter.com/Beatrix.aspx}}</ref>
La familio ekde la jaro 1871 pasigis la somerajn monatojn en kampara domo luprenita per la patro. Unue temis pri domo en la regiono [[Perthshire]] en Skotlando, ekde la jaro 1881 pri domo en la regiono [[Laga Distrikto]] de Anglio. En 1882 la familio konatiĝis kun la loka vikaro ''Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley'', kiu tre zorgiĝis pri la sekvoj de la industriigo kaj pliigo de turismo en la Laga Distrikto. En 1895 li kunfondis la organizaĵon ''[[National Trust]]'' cele al protekto de la pejzaĝo. Beatrix Potter sian tutan vivon havis apartan rilaton al tiu pejzaĝo kun krutaj montoj kaj malhelaj lagoj, kaj estis tre konvinkita pri la misio de vikaro Rawnsley, protekti tiujn naturajn trezorojn por estontaj generacioj.
With the proceeds from the books and a legacy from an aunt, Potter bought [[Hill Top, Cumbria|Hill Top Farm]] in [[Near and Far Sawrey|Near Sawrey]], a tiny village in the English Lake District near Ambleside in 1905. Over the next several decades, she purchased additional farms to preserve the unique hill country landscape. In 1913, at the age of 47, she married William Heelis, a respected local solicitor from Hawkshead. Potter was also a prize-winning breeder of Herdwick sheep and a prosperous farmer keenly interested in land preservation. She continued to write, illustrate and design spin-off merchandise based on her children’s books for Warne until the duties of land management and diminishing eyesight made it difficult to continue. Potter published over twenty-three books; the best known are those written between 1902 and 1922. She died on 22 December 1943 at her home in Near Sawrey at age 77, leaving almost all her property to the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]. She is credited with preserving much of the land that now comprises the [[Lake District National Park]].
Potter’s books continue to sell throughout the world, in multiple languages. Her stories have been retold in song, film, ballet and animation.
==Biography==
===Early life===
[[File:Young Beatrix.jpg|thumb|left|Potter at fifteen years with her [[English Springer Spaniel|springer spaniel]], Spot]]
Potter’s family on both sides was from the [[Manchester]] area.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 10</ref> They were English [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]],<ref>Lear 2007, p. 9</ref> a Dissenting Protestant sect who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and were socially and politically discriminated against. Potter’s paternal grandfather, [[Edmund Potter]], from [[Glossop]] in [[Derbyshire]], owned the largest calico printing works in England at the time, and later served as a [[Member of Parliament]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 10–14</ref> Beatrix’s father, Rupert William Potter (1832–1914), was educated in Manchester and trained as a barrister in London. He married Helen Leech (1839–1932), the daughter of another wealthy cotton merchant and shipbuilder from [[Stalybridge]], at [[Gee Cross]] on 8 August 1863. Rupert practiced law, specialising in equity law and conveyancing. They lived comfortably at 2 Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, where Helen Beatrix was born on 28 July 1866 and her brother Walter Bertram on 14 March 1872.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 13–24</ref> Both parents were artistically talented,<ref>Lear 2007, p. 21</ref> and Rupert was an adept amateur photographer.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 35–36</ref> Rupert had invested in the stock market and by the early 1890s was extremely wealthy.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 19. Rupert came into his father's estate over the course of several years, 1884, 1891 and 1905. The Potters were comfortable but they did not live exclusively on inherited wealth; Lane, (1946) ''The Tale of Beatrix Potter'' 1946, p. 1</ref>
Beatrix was educated by three able governesses, the last of whom was Annie Moore (''née'' Carter), just three years older than Beatrix, who tutored Beatrix in [[German language|German]] as well as acting as [[lady's companion]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 55</ref> She and Beatrix remained friends throughout their lives and Annie's eight children were the recipients of many of Potter’s delightful picture letters. It was Annie who later suggested that these letters might make good children’s books.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 142; Lane, 1978.The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter. Lane depicts Potter’s childhood as much more restricted than either or Potter’s two later biographers. Taylor, ''Beatrix Potter: Artist Story Teller'', Ch 1.; Lear, 2007, pp. 25–48; Beatrix Potter, ''The Journal of Beatrix Potter: From 1881–1897''.</ref>
In their school room Beatrix and Bertram kept a variety of small pets, mice, rabbits, a hedgehog, some bats along with collections of butterflies and other insects which they drew and studied.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 31, pp. 37–44, p. 458nn15</ref> There is no evidence to support claims that any of these creatures were mistreated, or that the motive for their study was anything more sinister than natural curiosity and a desire to draw from life. Quite the contrary, Beatrix was devoted to the care of her small animals, often taking them with her on long holidays.<ref>Judy Taylor, Joyce Irene Whalley, Anne Stevenson Hobbs and Elizabeth Battrick, (1987) ''Beatrix Potter, 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World'', pp.9–17, 35–48; Lear, pp. 25–48.</ref>
For most of the first fifteen years of her life, Beatrix spent summer holidays at [[Dalguise]], an estate on the [[River Tay]] in [[Perthshire]], [[Scotland]]. There she sketched and explored an area that nourished her imagination and her observation.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 26–8, 51</ref> Beatrix and her brother were allowed great freedoms in the country and both children became adept students of [[natural history]]. In 1887, when Dalguise was no longer available, the Potters took their first summer holiday in [[Lancashire]] in the [[Lake District]], at [[Wray Castle]] near [[Lake Windermere|Windermere]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 51–2</ref> As a result, Beatrix came to meet [[Hardwicke Rawnsley]], incumbent vicar at Wray and later the founding secretary of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]], whose interest in the countryside and country life inspired the same in Beatrix and who was to have a lasting impact on her life.<ref>Potter, ''The Journal, 1885–1897''</ref><ref>Lear 2007, pp. 52–3</ref>
About the age of 14 Beatrix, like many girls at the time, began to keep a diary. Beatrix's was written in a code of her own devising which was a simple letter for letter substitution. Her ''Journal'' was an important laboratory for her creativity serving as both sketchbook and literary experiment where in tiny handwriting she reported on society, recorded her impressions of art and artists, recounted stories, and observed life around her.<ref>Lear 2007, pp.49–51 ''cf.'' also p. 463nn1</ref> The ''Journal'', decoded and transcribed by Leslie Linder in 1958, does not provide an intimate record of her personal life, but it is an invaluable source for understanding a vibrant part of British society in the late 19th century. It describes Potter’s maturing artistic and intellectual interests, her often amusing insights on the places she visited, and her unusual ability to observe nature and to describe it. Begun in 1881, her journal ends in 1897 when her artistic and intellectual energies were absorbed in scientific study and in efforts to publish her drawings.<ref>Potter, "The Journal, 1885–1897"</ref> Precocious but reserved and often bored, she was searching for more independent activities and a desire to earn some money of her own whilst dutifully taking care of her parents, dealing with her especially demanding mother,<ref>Lear 2007, p. 94 also ''cf.'' p. 474nn55</ref> and managing their various households.
===Scientific illustrations and work in mycology===
Beatrix Potter’s parents did not discourage higher education. As was common in the [[Victorian era]], women of her class were privately educated and rarely sent to college.<ref>Taylor, ''Artist, Storyteller'', pp. 59–61; Elizabeth E. Battrick, (1999) ''Beatrix Potter: The Unknown Years''; Lynn Barber, (1980) ''The Heyday of Natural History'', Brian Gardiner, "Breatrix Potter’s Fossils and Her Interests in Geology", The Linnean, 16/1 (January 2000), 31–47; Lear 2007, pp. 76–103; Potter, ''Journal, 1891–1897''.</ref>
Beatrix Potter was interested in every branch of natural science save [[astronomy]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 98</ref> [[Botany]] was a passion for most [[Victorians]] and nature study was a popular enthusiasm. Potter was eclectic in her tastes; collecting fossils,<ref>Brian G. Gardiner, "Beatrix Potter's fossils and her interest in Geology," ''The Linnean: Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'' 16/1 (January 2000), pp. 31–47</ref> studying [[archeology|archeological]] artifacts from London excavations, and interested in [[entomology]]. In all of these areas she drew and painted her specimens with increasing skill. By the 1890s her scientific interests centred on [[mycology]]. First drawn to fungi because of their colours and evanescence in nature and her delight in painting them, her interest deepened after meeting Charles McIntosh, a revered naturalist and mycologist during a summer holiday in [[Perthshire]] in 1892. He helped improve the accuracy of her illustrations, taught her [[taxonomy]], and supplied her with live specimens to paint during the winter. Curious as to how fungi reproduced Potter began microscopic drawings of fungi spores (the [[agaric]]s) and in 1895 developed a theory of their [[germination]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 81–103</ref> Through the aegis of her scientific uncle, [[Henry Enfield Roscoe|Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe]], a chemist and vice chancellor of the [[University of London]], she consulted with botanists at [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Kew Gardens]], convincing [[George Edward Massee|George Massee]] of her ability to germinate spores and her theory of [[F1 hybrid|hybridisation]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 117</ref> She did not believe in the theory of [[symbiosis]] proposed by [[Simon Schwendener]], the German mycologist as previously thought, rather she proposed a more independent process of reproduction.<ref>M.A. Taylor and R.H. Rodger, eds. (2003) ''A Fascinating Acquaintance: Charles McIntosh and Beatrix Potter''; Taylor, et al. (1987) ''Artist and Her World'', pp. 71–94; Lear 2007, pp. 104–129; Nicholas P. Money, "Beatrix Potter, Victorian Mycologist", ''Fungi''. 2:4 (Fall 2009); Roy Watling, "Helen Beatrix Potter: Her interest in fungi", ''The Linnean: Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'', 16/1 (January 2000), pp. 24–31.</ref>
Rebuffed by [[William Turner Thiselton-Dyer|William Thiselton-Dyer]], the Director at Kew, because of her gender and her amateur status, Beatrix wrote up her conclusions and submitted a paper ''On the Germination of the Spores of the Agaricineae'' to the [[Linnean Society]] in 1897. It was introduced by Massee because, as a female, Potter could not attend proceedings or read her paper. She subsequently withdrew it realising that some of her samples were contaminated, but continued her microscopic studies for several more years. Her paper has only recently been rediscovered, along with the rich, artistic illustrations and drawings that accompanied it. Her work is only now being properly evaluated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beatrix Potter and the Linnean Society|url=http://www.linnean.org/index.php?id=104|publisher=Linnean Society|accessdate=1 November 2011}}</ref><ref>Lear 2007, pp. 104–25</ref><ref>Watling, "Helen Beatrix Potter: Her interest in fungi", ''The Linnean: Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'', 16/1 (January 2000)</ref> Potter later gave her other mycological drawings and scientific drawings to the [[Armitt Library|Armitt Museum and Library]] in Ambleside where mycologists still refer to them to identify fungi. There is also a collection of her fungi paintings at the [[Perth Museum and Art Gallery]] in Perth, Scotland donated by Charles McIntosh. In 1967 the mycologist W.P.K. Findlay included many of Potter’s beautifully accurate fungi drawings in his ''Wayside & Woodland Fungi'', thereby fulfilling her desire to one day have her fungi drawings published in a book.<ref>Walter Philip Kennedy Findlay, (1967) ''Wayside & Woodland Fungi''</ref> In 1997 the Linnean Society issued a posthumous apology to Potter for the sexism displayed in its handling of her research.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 125, p.482nn58</ref>
===Artistic and literary career===
[[File:Peter Rabbit first edition 1902a.jpg|thumb|upright|First edition, 1902]]
Potter’s artistic and literary interests were deeply influenced by fairies, fairy tales and fantasy. She was a student of the classic fairy tales of [[Western Europe]]. As well as stories from the [[Old Testament]], [[John Bunyan|John Bunyan's]] ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]'' and [[Harriet Beecher Stowe|Harriet Beecher Stowe's]] ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'', she grew up with ''[[Aesop’s Fables]]'', the fairy tales of the [[Brothers Grimm]] and [[Hans Christian Andersen]], [[Charles Kingsley|Charles Kingsley's]] ''[[The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby|The Water Babies]]'',<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 30–1</ref> the folk tales and [[Scottish mythology|mythology of Scotland]], the [[German Romantics]], [[Shakespeare]],<ref>Lear 2007, p. 95. She liked to memorise his plays by heart.</ref> and the romances of [[Sir Walter Scott]].<ref>Lear 2007, p. 35. Beatrix said she learnt to read "on" Scott</ref> As a young child, before the age of eight, [[Edward Lear]]'s ''Book of Nonsense'', including the much loved ''[[The Owl and the Pussycat]]'', and [[Lewis Carroll|Lewis Carroll's]] ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]]'' had made their impression, although she later said of ''Alice'' that she was more interested in [[John Tenniel|Tenniel's]] illustrations than what they were about.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 34</ref> The ''[[Brer Rabbit]]'' stories of [[Joel Chandler Harris]] had been family favourites and she later studied his ''[[Uncle Remus]]'' stories and illustrated them.<ref>Lear 2007, p.131. She began eight ''Uncle Remus'' drawings in the same year 1893 she began writing the ''Peter Rabbit'' picture letters to Noel Moore, completing the last in 1896.</ref> She studied book illustration from a young age and developed her own tastes, but the work of the [[picture book]] triumvirate [[Walter Crane]], [[Kate Greenaway]] and [[Randolph Caldecott]], the last an illustrator whose work was later collected by her father, was a great influence.<ref>Lear 2007, p. 33</ref> When she started to illustrate, she chose first the traditional rhymes and stories, "[[Cinderella]]", "[[Sleeping Beauty]]", "[[Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves]]", "[[Puss in Boots|Puss-in-boots]]", and "[[Red Riding Hood]]".<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 127–8</ref> But most often her illustrations were fantasies featuring her own pets: mice, rabbits, kittens, and guinea pigs.<ref>Taylor, et al., ''The Artist and her World,'' pp. 49–70; Potter, ''Journal, 1884–1897''; Humphrey Carpenter (1985), ''Secret Gardens: The Golden Age of Children’s Literature.''</ref>
In her teenage years Potter was a regular visitor to the art galleries of London, particularly enjoying the summer and winter exhibitions at the [[Royal Academy]] in London.<ref>Lear 2007, p.47-8. [[J.M.W. Turner]] was the first artist to impress her.</ref> Her ''Journal'' reveals her growing sophistication as a critic as well as the influence of her father’s friend the artist [[Sir John Everett Millais]] who recognised Beatrix’s talent of observation. Although Potter was aware of art and artistic trends, her drawing and her prose style were uniquely her own.<ref>Taylor, ''Artist, Storyteller,'' pp. 70–95; Taylor, ed. 1989, ''Beatrix Potters Letters''.</ref>
As a way to earn a bit of money in the 1890s, Beatrix and her brother began to print Christmas cards of their own design, as well as cards for special occasions. Mice and rabbits were the most frequent subject of her fantasy paintings. In 1890 the firm of Hildesheimer and Faulkner bought several of her drawings of her rabbit, [[Benjamin Bunny]], to illustrate verses by [[Frederic Weatherly]] titled ''A Happy Pair''. In 1893 the same printer brought several more drawings for Weatherly’s ''Our Dear Relations'', another book of rhymes, and the following year Potter successfully sold a series of frog illustrations and verses for ''Changing Pictures'', a popular annual offered by the art publisher Ernest Nister. Potter was pleased by this success and determined to publish her own illustrated stories.<ref>Taylor, et al. 1987, pp. 107–148; Katherine Chandler, "Thoroughly Post-Victorian, Pre-Modern Beatrix." ''Children’s Literature Quarterly''. 32(4): 287-307.</ref>
Whenever Potter went on holiday to the [[Lake District]] or [[Scotland]], she sent letters to young friends illustrating them with quick sketches. Many of these letters were written to the children of her former governess Annie Carter Moore, particularly to her eldest son Noel who was often ill. In September 1893 Potter was on holiday at Eastwood in [[Dunkeld]], Perthshire. She had run out of things to say to Noel and so she told him a story about "four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter." It became one of the most famous children’s letters ever written and the basis of Potter’s future career as a writer-artist-storyteller.<ref>Judy Taylor 1992, ''Letters to Children from Beatrix Potter''.</ref>
In 1900, Potter revised her tale about the four little rabbits, and fashioned a dummy book of it - it has been suggested, in imitation of [[Helen Bannerman]]'s [[1899 in literature|1899]] bestseller ''[[The Story of Little Black Sambo]]''.<ref>Stevenson, Laura C. "A Vogue for Small Books": The Tale of Peter Rabbit and its Contemporary Competitors" [http://www.lauracstevenson.org/avogueoflittlebooks.htm]</ref> Unable to find a buyer for the work, she published it for family and friends at her own expense in December 1901. It was drawn in black and white with a coloured frontispiece. Family friend Canon [[Hardwicke Rawnsley]] had great faith in Potter's tale, recast it in didactic verse, and made the rounds of the London publishing houses. [[Frederick Warne & Co]]. had previously rejected the tale but, eager to compete in the booming small format children's book market, reconsidered and accepted the "bunny book" (as the firm called it) following the recommendation of their prominent children's book artist [[L. Leslie Brooke]].<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 144-7</ref> The firm declined Rawnsley's verse in favour of Potter's original prose, and Potter agreed to colour her pen and ink illustrations, choosing the then-new [[Edmund Evans#Later work and retirement|Hentschel three-colour process]] for reproducing her watercolours.<ref name="Hobbs15">Hobbs 1989, p. 15</ref>
[[File:Tower Bank Arms.jpg|thumb|right|Potter used many real locations for her book illustrations, the Tower Bank Arms, Near Sawrey appears in ''The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck''.]]
On 2 October 1902 ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]'' was published,<ref>Taylor 1996, p. 76</ref> and was an immediate success. It was followed the next year by ''[[The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin]]'' and ''[[The Tailor of Gloucester]]'' which had also first been written as picture letters to the Moore children. Working with [[Norman Warne]] as her editor, Potter published two or three little books each year for a total of twenty-three books. The last book in this format was ''[[Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes]]'' in 1922, a collection of favourite rhymes. Although ''[[The Tale of Pigling Bland]]'' was not published until 1930, it had been written much earlier. Potter continued creating her little books until after the [[First World War]] when her energies were increasingly directed toward her farming, sheep-breeding and land conservation.<ref>Judy Taylor 2002, ''That Naughty Rabbit: Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit''; Lear 2007, pp. 207-247; Anne Stevenson Hobbs, ed. 1989, ''Beatrix Potter’s Art: Paintings and Drawings''.</ref>
The immense popularity of Potter’s books was based on the lively quality of her illustrations, the non-didactic nature of her stories, the depiction of the rural countryside, and the imaginative qualities she lent to her animal characters.
Potter was also a canny businesswoman. As early as 1903 she made and patented a [[Peter Rabbit]] doll. It was followed by other "spin-off" merchandise over the years, including painting books, board games, wall-paper, figurines, baby blankets and china tea-sets. All were licensed by [[Frederick Warne & Co]]. and earned Potter an independent income as well as immense profits for her publisher.<ref>See Judy Taylor 2002, "That Naughty Rabbit"</ref>
In 1905, Potter and [[Norman Warne]] became unofficially engaged. Potters’ parents objected to the match because Warne was "in trade" and thus not socially suitable. Sadly the engagement lasted only one month when Warne died of [[leukemia]] at age thirty-seven.<ref>Lear 2007, pp.198- 201</ref> That same year Potter used some of her income and a small inheritance from an aunt to buy [[Hill Top Farm]] in [[Near Sawrey]] in [[Lancashire]] in the English [[Lake District]]. Potter and Warne may have hoped that Hill Top Farm would be their holiday home, but after Warne's death Potter went ahead with its purchase as she had always wanted to own that farm and live in "that charming village".<ref>Lear 2007, p. 207</ref>
===Country life===
[[File:Hill Top Farm.jpg|thumb|right|Hill Top, Near Sawrey – Potter's former home, now owned by the National Trust and preserved as it was when she lived and wrote her stories there.]]
The tenant farmer John Cannon and his family agreed to stay on to manage the farm for her while she made physical improvements learned the techniques of [[fell farming]] and of raising livestock, including pigs, cows and chickens; the following year she added sheep. Realising she needed to protect her boundaries she sought advice from W.H. Heelis & Son, a local firm of solicitors with offices in nearby [[Hawkshead]]. With William Heelis acting for her she bought contiguous pasture, and in 1909 the {{convert|20|acre|m2}} Castle Farm across the road from Hill Top Farm. Visiting Hill Top every chance she got, Potter’s books written during this period (such as ''[[The Tale of Ginger and Pickles]]'', about the local shop in Near Sawrey and ''[[The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse]]'', a wood mouse) reflect her increasing participation in village life and her delight in country living.<ref>Taylor, ed., (2002) ''Beatrix Potter’s Letters''; Hunter Davies, ''Beatrix Potter’s Lakeland''; W.R. Mitchell, ''Potter: Her Life in the Lake District''.</ref>
Owning and managing these working farms required the routine collaboration with the widely respected William Heelis. By the summer of 1912 Heelis had proposed marriage and Beatrix had accepted, although she did not immediately tell her parents who once again disapproved because Heelis was only a country solicitor. Potter and Heelis were married on 15 October 1913 in London at [[St Mary Abbots|St. Mary Abbots]] in [[Kensington]]. The couple moved immediately to Near Sawrey, residing at Castle Cottage, the renovated farm house on Castle Farm. Hill Top remained a working farm but was now remodelled to allow for the tenant family and Potter’s private studio and work shop. At last her own woman, Potter settled into the partnerships that shaped the rest of her life: her country solicitor husband and his large family, her farms, the Sawrey community and the predictable rounds of country life. ''[[The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck]]'' and ''[[The Tale of Tom Kitten]]'' are representative of Hill Top Farm and of her farming life, and reflect her happiness with her country life.<ref>John Heelis, (1999) ''The Tale of Mrs William Heelis – Beatrix Potter''; Lear, Ch. 13.</ref>
After Rupert Potter died in 1914, Potter, now a wealthy woman, found Lindeth Howe, a large house in nearby [[Windermere]] where her mother lived until her death in 1931 at the age of 93. Potter continued to write stories for Frederick Warne & Co. and fully participated in country life. She established a Nursing Trust for local villages, and served on various committees and councils responsible for footpaths and other country life issues.<ref>Taylor et al. ''The Artist and Her World'', pp. 185–194; Taylor, ''Artist Storyteller'', pp. 105–144.</ref>
===Sheep farming===
Beatrix Potter Heelis became keenly interested the breeding and raising of [[Herdwick]] sheep, the indigenous fell sheep, soon after acquiring Hill Top Farm. In 1923 she bought a former deer park and vast sheep farm in the Troutbeck Valley called [[Troutbeck Park|Troutbeck Park Farm]], restoring its land, its thousands of Herdwick sheep, and establishing her as one of the major Herdwick sheep farmers in the area. She was admired by her shepherds and farm managers for her willingness to experiment with the latest biological remedies for the common diseases of sheep, and for her employment of the best shepherds, sheep breeders, and farm managers.<ref>William Rollinson, (1981) ''How They Lived in the Lake District''; Susan Denyer, 1993 ''Herdwick Sheep Farming''; Geoff Brown, (2009) ''Herdwicks: Herdwick Sheep and the English Lake District''; Judy Taylor, ed., (1998) ''Beatrix Potter’s Farming Friendship. Lake District Letters to Joseph Moscrop, 1926–1943''.</ref>
By the late 1920s Potter and her Hill Top farm manager Tom Storey had made a name for their prize-winning Herdwick flock. As a Herdwick breeder she won many prizes at the local agricultural shows and was frequently asked to serve as a judge. In 1942 she was named President-elect of The Herdwick Sheepbreeders’ Association, the first time a woman had ever been elected to that office, but died before taking office.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 381-404</ref>
==Lake District conservation==
Potter had been a disciple of the land conservation and preservation ideals of her long-time friend and mentor, [[Hardwicke Rawnsley|Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley]], the first secretary and founding member of the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty]]. She supported the efforts of the National Trust to preserve not just the places of extraordinary beauty, but those heads of valley and low grazing lands that would be irreparably ruined by development. She was also an authority on the traditional Lakeland crafts, period furniture and stonework. She restored and preserved the farms that she bought or managed, making sure that each farm house had in it a piece of antique Lakeland furniture. Potter was interested in preserving not only the [[Herdwick sheep]], but the way of life of fell farming. In 1930 the Heelises became partners with the National Trust in buying and managing the fell farms included in the large Monk Coniston Estate. The estate was composed of many farms spread over a wide area of western Lancashire, including the famously beautiful Tarn Hows. Potter became the ''de facto'' estate manager for the Trust for seven years until the National Trust could afford to buy most of the property back from her. Her stewardship of these farms earned her wide regard, but she was not without her critics. She was notable in observing the problems of [[afforestation]], preserving the intake grazing lands, and husbanding the quarries and timber on these farms. All her farms were stocked with Herdwick sheep and frequently with [[Galloway cattle]].
==Later life==
Potter continued to write stories and to draw, although mostly for her own pleasure. Her books in the late 1920s included the semi-autobiographical ''[[The Fairy Caravan]]'', a fanciful tale set in her beloved Troutbeck fells. It was published only in the US during Potter’s lifetime, and not until 1952 in the UK. ''Sister Anne'', Potter’s version of the story of [[Bluebeard]] was written especially for her American readers but illustrated by Katharine Sturges. A final folktale, ''Wag by Wall'', was published posthumously by ''[[The Horn Book Magazine|The Horn Book]]'' in 1944. Potter was a generous patron of the [[Girl Guides]] whose troops she allowed to make their summer encampments on her lands and whose company she enjoyed as an older woman.<ref>Jane Morse, ed., (1982) ''Beatrix Potter’s Americans: Selected Letters''; Susan Denyer, (2000) ''At Home with Beatrix Potter: The Creator of Peter Rabbit''.</ref>
Potter and William Heelis enjoyed a happy marriage of thirty years, continuing their farming and preservation efforts throughout the hard days of the [[Second World War]]. Although they were childless, Potter played an important role in William’s large family, particularly enjoying her relationship with several nieces whom she helped educate and giving comfort and aid to her husband’s brothers and sisters.<ref>Heelis, ''Mrs. William Heelis''; Taylor, ed., ''Beatrix Potter’s Letters''.</ref>
Potter died of complications from [[pneumonia]] and [[heart disease]] on 22 December 1943 at Castle Cottage. She left nearly all her property to the National Trust, including over {{convert|4,000|acre|km2}} of land, sixteen farms, cottages and herds of cattle and Herdwick sheep. Hers was the largest gift at that time to the National Trust and it enabled the preservation of the lands now included in the [[Lake District National Park]] and the continuation of fell farming. The central office of the National Trust in [[Swindon]] was named 'Heelis' in 2005 in her memory. William Heelis continued his stewardship of their properties and of her literary and artistic work for the eighteen months he survived her. When he died in August 1945 he left the remainder to the National Trust.<ref>Lear 2007, pp. 405-440; Taylor, ed., ''Beatrix Potter’s Letters''; Taylor, et.al., ''The Artist and Her World''.</ref>
==Legacies==
Potter left almost all the original illustrations for her books to the National Trust. The copyright to her stories and merchandise was given to her publisher Frederick Warne & Co, now a division of the [[Penguin Group]]. Hill Top Farm was opened to the public by the National Trust in 1946 her artwork was displayed there until 1985 when it was moved to William Heelis’s former law offices in [[Hawkshead]], also owned by the National Trust as the [[Beatrix Potter Gallery]].<ref>Bruce L. Thompson, ‘Beatrix Potter’s Gift to the Public'. ''Country Life'' (3 March 1944), 370-371; Taylor, et.al., ''The Artist Storyteller'', Ch. 6; Lear 2007, pp. 441-447.</ref>
Potter gave her folios of mycological drawings to the [[Armitt Library|Armitt Library and Museum]] in [[Ambleside]] before her death. ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' is owned by Frederick Warne and Company, ''The Tailor of Gloucester'' by the [[Tate Gallery]] and ''The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies'' by the [[British Museum]].
The largest public collection of her letters and drawings is the Leslie Linder Bequest and Leslie Linder Collection at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London. In the United States, the largest public collections are those in the Special Collections of the [[Free Library of Philadelphia]], and the Lloyd Cotsen Children’s Library at [[Princeton University]].
==Themes==
There are many interpretations of Potter’s literary work, the sources of her art, and interpretations of her life and times. Please see bibliography for some of the many critical evaluations of her opus of children’s literature, including [[Modernism|Modernist]] interpretations of [[Humphrey Carpenter]] and Katherine Chandler. Judy Taylor, ''That Naughty Rabbit: Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit'', rev. 2002 tells the story of the first publication and many editions. Literary criticism is included in detail in the bibliographies of various biographical works, specialised treatments and exhibit catalogues.<ref>Taylor, et al., (2009) ''The Artist and Her World''. Considers Potter's career and life in chapters arranged thematically; ''The Pitkin Guide to Beatrix Potter''.</ref>
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