JOY

“Stories don't always end where their authors intended. But there is joy in following them, wherever they take us.”
 ~ Helen Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)









I really never gave her a second thought until I saw the movie: Miss Potter (heartwarming and magical). Then, as is my usual pattern, I began to research everything about her. What a wonderment. She was more than just a writer and illustrator of ‘Peter Rabbit”, her real life was much more interesting.

Childhood drawings

She drew these when she was nine

She was a woman of intellect, determination, and influence. An illustrator whose protagonists jumped off the page to become her friends, she self-published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1901, and then, in 1902 it was picked up by publisher Frederick Warne & Co.

With the Royalties from Peter Rabbit, she bought Hilltop, in Cumbria, Northwest England  - subsequently gobbling up as much land as possible, over 4000 acres.

Hilltop house/Photo by Ed O'Keeffe

The recognition as well as the love came late in her life, and her story certainly didn’t end the way she intended, but, as she herself so aptly said: “…there is joy in following…..”

JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK