book review index/

BOOK REVIEW

by John Burland, Wainwright Society Press & Publicity

(review first published in Footsteps)

Beatrix Potter at Home in the Lake District

As well as being the centenary of AW’s birth, 2007 will also be remembered as the year of Beatrix Potter! For not only have we had the new film Miss Potter starring Renee Zellweger, but there has also been a plethora of books published as a result of this film.

Included in these is Beatrix Potter, A Year in Nature by Linda Lear, Miss Potter by Richard Maltby Jr., The making of Miss Potter by Garth Pearce, plus a CD containing stories read by the stars from the film entitled “Favourite Beatrix Potter Tales”. But the best publication, in my opinion, is the paperback version of a book originally published in 2000. Susan Denyer, the author, is the National Trust’s Heritage Buildings representative in the north of England.

Apart from creating romantic interiors in her properties and developing the beautiful garden at Hill Top, the farmhouse she bought at Near Sawrey, Beatrix Potter spent much of her life – and her money – in buying land that she later gave to the National Trust, thus conserving many hundreds of acres for our future. This book looks at the relationship between the Lake District and this work, and contains numerous extracts from her letters and diaries. It includes atmospheric photographs from the Beatrix Potter archive, but this recently published paperback also has newly-commissioned photographs of the many farms that she bought with her husband William Heelis.

The book tells of her family and holiday homes, describes Hill Top and its garden, recounts tales set in the hamlet of Sawrey, and portrays the farming methods that were Beatrix Potter’s main passion during the latter part of her life.

This is a fascinating book, beautifully illustrated with sketches and photographs, and totally absorbing from cover to cover. For any lover of the Lake District, it is well worth buying.

You can contact John Burland by e-mail at publicity@wainwright.org.uk