Beatrix Potter Characters

Beatrix Potter Characters

Part one


Once upon a time -over a hundred years ago, in fact... there was a frog called Mr Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of a pond...
And so began the story of one of the most beloved characters created by author, illustrator and scientist, Beatrix Potter (1866-1943).



The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher was first published by Frederick Warne & Co. Prior to this of course, in 1902, Beatrix Potter's most famous book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, had been published, enchanting children and adults of that Edwardian era just as much as they are adored by children and adults of the 21st century.


When it was published, The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher would have cost just a few pennies. In fact, when Beatrix Potter found her stories turned down by publisher after publisher, she decided to print the little books herself. She ordered 250 copies and sold them to her friends and family for a penny or two.

Beatrix Potter Characters

  Born on July 28th, 1866, in Kensington, London, Beatrix Potter was brought up by a nurse, and educated at home by a series of governesses. She saw her parents only at bedtimes and on special occasions. When she was six years old, her brother Bertram was born.




Beatrix and her family took their summer holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, and it was here that her love of nature flourished. Beatrix and her little brother would explore the woods and fields. They caught and tamed wild creatures, and learned to care about wildlife and the countryside.

Beatrix covered pages with her sketches of fungi, flowers and small creatures, including her own pets. She and her brother had quite a menagerie of pets which they kept in the schoolroom - including at one stage, a green frog and a rabbit.

Beatrix Potter Characters

 Almost all of her famous characters are based on her own pets.

She first created the character of Peter Rabbit in a now famous picture letter while holidaying in Eastwood, Dunkeld. On September 4, 1893, Beatrix wrote a picture letter to Noel Moore, the five- year-old son of her former governess who was ill in bed. She wrote:"My dear Noel, I don't know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits..."

The letter was later to become The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The following day she wrote a letter to Noel's brother Eric, about a frog called Jeremy Fisher. The famous letters are now being carefully treasured in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Some years later she rewrote the letter as a story and sent it to six publishers - and was rejected by every one of them. Finally she decided to have it printed herself. Only then did publisher Frederick Warne agree to publish it. The Tale of Peter Rabbit came out in 1902, costing one shilling and became one of the most famous stories ever written.

Today the book is fifth in the Guardian's top 100 valuable books, valued at £50,000. A first edition of The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher is also in the top 100, numbered a joint 75th, with the book valued at £4,000-56,000.

Beatrix Potter Characters

It's always worth keeping an eye out for a bargain, however, as spotted recently on the Internet was a first edition of The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher in 'fair condition' as it had some repairs to it, priced at just £125.

Beatrix Potter's very first book was called A Happy Pair, the illustrations for which were created in 1890. It was published in 1893 by Hildesheimer & Faulkner and included her Christmas card illustrations and poetry by a Frederic Weatherly. Only a handful of copies exist although one was sold at Sotheby's in 2001 for £23,250.


part 2 ,Mr Jeremy Fisher