Beatrix Potter- a Fairy Tale Lived

It was today's Google logo which guided me to Beatrix Potter. Potter was a pioneer among children’s story tellers and illustrators. A bit isolated but beautiful childhood of her was nothing shorter than a fascinating fairy tale. Animals, big farms, the mysteries of nature, even a pet bat (can u imagine?); no wonder she became a writer for children. It was sad to know that she was one of the early martyrs of gender discrimination which must have really affected her scientific career. She was blindly denied the membership of British Royal Society, though she was considered to be one of the best fungi experts among biologists.She had sketched hundreds of Fungi patterns by herself looking into the microscope and still had to end up as an amateur biologist only because she was born a woman. A natural environmentalist, who used a big part of her fortune to protect the country side where she spent most of her childhood in. After the tragic dismay of her fiancée, she focused on buying farms and lived in the astonishing beauty of nature, something most of us can only dream about.

This beautiful picture of a young 15 year old Potter caught my attention. One could feel the beauty of innocence in it.

The sketches of a nine year old Parker.

IOWA digital library has preserved most of her famous works in a beautiful digital flip-page form which worth a visit. Have a look at the screenshot and pay a visit to the site by clicking on the imaage.