More than an illustrator.(Report from Europe)(Beatrix Potter)(Brief Article)(Biography)

Beatrix Potter was born in London in 1866 to a middle-class family that spent summer holidays first in Scotland and then in the Lake District, where Potter later lived permanently. She showed an early aptitude for drawing, particularly plants and animals. Her original intent was to engage in serious studies of the natural world, and she eventually had a paper accepted by the learned Linnean Society.

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For the children of her former governess, Potter wrote stories about her pet rabbits, first Peter and then Benjamin. Later she created tales about other small animals such as ducks, frogs, mice, and squirrels. They were accompanied by black-and-white drawings that benefited greatly from her early nature studies.

The first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was published by the author but was soon taken up by Frederick Warne and Company in London--the company that ...