November 4, 2017

'Over The Hills And Far Away' ...The Life of Beatrix Potter


"They came to the river, they came to the bridge - they crossed it hand in hand - then over the hills and far away she danced with Pigling Bland!"  The Tale of Pigling Bland 1913

Throughout this book I discovered more about the life and work of Beatrix Potter, and even though it was dense in some parts, I found it an enjoyable read.

I didn't realize how intelligent she was and how her love of science and nature comes through her art and writings.

It says here on this subject:

"As a child, she painted everything from caterpillars to a hippopotamus, omnivorous in her appetite. Over time she specialized: after entomology, paleontology and mycology. 

Her obsession with fungi, starting in a small way in 1887, resulted in her finding and painting a number of little-known species and, ultimately, a theory - since challenged - about reproduction through spore germination in members of the Agaricineae family. 

Along the way she completed more than 300 studies of British fungi, several among the finest of her paintings. After her death a selection were chosen to illustrate Walter Finlay's Wayside & Woodland Fungi."


Beatrix Potter had some difficulty when first trying to get her books published, but she was determined to do so. She finally decided to self-publish.

The book says here of self-publishing:

"The undertaking proved costly and tells us much of her confidence in the enterprise and her single-mindedness."

Her confidence and determination paid off. A famous author read her little self-published book, 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit', and therefore Beatrix was able to report his 'good opinion of the story & words'...the rest is history. That famous author, was Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes series.


I've always enjoyed Beatrix Potter's, 'little books' as she called them, and read them to my children when they were small, but most of all I love her paintings. There is a gentleness and beauty about them. You can almost feel her love of nature when you admire them, and even though Beatrix was a Unitarian and a Darwinist, I can still look at her art and stand in awe of what God has created.

In 1Timothy we are called to trust in the Lord who...

"...richly provides us with everything to enjoy." 1 Timothy 6:17

I have thoroughly enjoyed Beatrix Potter's art and stories for many years and will hopefully be sharing her 'little books' with grandchildren some day. : )

I recommend this book on the life of Beatrix Potter to those who love and appreciate her work.



Buy it HERE on Amazon

23 comments:

  1. Lovely post! My dream is go see some of her paintings at the Victoria and Albert museum in London someday.

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    1. Oh, that would be nice! Thanks for stopping by. : )

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  2. Sounds interesting! I did not know she started out as self-published. That's encouraging!

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    1. I didn't either, was interesting to read about. Thanks for stopping by Barbara! : )

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  3. I had no idea that she painted such technical and beautiful pictures of nature. Love her and her work. I didn't realize what her beliefs were, but I agree in seeing the beauty of God's creation in her art and words. Thanks for sharing! (Visiting from Good Morning Mondays) ❤

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    1. Her art really is so beautiful. Glad you stopped by Laura!

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  4. What an interesting background to Potter's delightful children's stories. I didn't know she had self-published to start with. Thanks for sharing

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  5. She was truly a gifted lady. I didn't know she painted so many fungi. I love her stories and read Peter Rabbit to my daughter when she was about 3. I could stop anywhere in the story and she could finish the sentence. I tried reading it to my son, and he jumped up running in mid air and screaming for me to stop when I got to the part of Peter and Mr. McGreggor. He would run from the room and refuse to hear the rest of the story. Every year or so I would try again with the same results. I am not sure he stayed in his seat and heard the ending until he was about 8.

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    1. That's a great story! I read your comment to my daughter and it made us laugh. Children are so funny and precious. Glad he finally got around to hearing the end!

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  6. Don't stop at the Victoria and Albert - drive on up to the lake district and wander through her house! I didn't know she'd self-published - What? And no Amazon to help her out! Encouraging, indeed!

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  7. I've always loved Beatrix Potter's art and stories! She really did beautiful work. Thanks for sharing some little known facts about her! Blessings to you! I'm your neighbor at #CoffeeforYourHeart.

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  8. Thank you for sharing more about Beatrix Potter.

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  9. I had no idea about any of this! This is sooo interesting! I was first introduced to Beatrix Potter books when my children were small. I just loved the pictures and also didn't realize that she was the artist.

    This looks like a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing. :-)

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    1. She was a talented lady for sure! Thanks for stopping by Karen. : )

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  10. I meant I love Beatrix Potter, lol :0)

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    1. LOL, I had to check the spelling of her name several times while writing this post, so don't feel bad! Glad you stopped by Aileen. : )

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  11. Thanks for linking up at LLM, Hope to see you next week.
    Have a great day,
    Connie

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  12. This looks fabulous! Thank you for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com!
    Tina

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Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )