‘Miss Potter:’ The (mostly true) tale of Beatrix Potter
There’s not a great deal of suspense in the new film, “Miss Potter.” We know from the start that the heroine will triumph over the nattering skeptics surrounding her. “Miss Potter” (played by Renee Zellweger) is, after all, Beatrix Potter, she of Peter Rabbit and Mrs. Tiggy-winkle fame, whose books have sold in the hundreds of millions during the last century.
No suspense then, but plenty of charm and whimsy here. And some good history as well, for the film hews closely to the life of the actual Miss Potter. It also transports us convincingly to the oh-so-stuffy world of Victorian England, where affluent ladies were expected to stay quietly at home, and betrothed couples rarely allowed themselves anything beyond a chaste peck on the cheek. Here’s a guide to some questions the film raises on the author’s life and culture.
Q. The film shows Potter as rather lonely, with her illustrations as her only “friends.” Is that accurate?
A. Mostly. Schooled by a governess, and rarely allowed companions of her own age, Beatrix grew up to be a solitary woman, with few likeminded friends. She also evinced little interest in the stolid Victorian suitors suggested by her mother. And her decision to enter the world of commerce was frowned upon by members of her social class.
Whether or not her animal illustrations came alive for her we’ll never know, but Potter lavished affection on an enormous number of real pets throughout the years. She or her family kept at various times dogs, guinea pigs, birds, rats, mice, lizards, bats, squirrels, a hedgehog named Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, and two rabbits she named Peter and Benjamin Bouncer.
Q. According to the film, Potter first came up with the story of “Peter Rabbit” as a 10-year-old. True?
A. No, the earliest record of it seems to be an illustrated letter she wrote in 1893 (when she was in her 20s) to the child of her former governess. “My dear Noel,” Potter began the letter, “I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter…” Ten years later, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” became her first bestseller.
Q. Were Potter’s publishers convinced that “Peter Rabbit” would never sell?
A. The film exaggerates that, though it is true that the partners at Frederick Warne’s publishing house didn’t expect much from “the bunny book,” as they called it.
Q. Did the partners foist the book off on their younger brother, brand new to the business?
A. Not quite. Norman Warne (played here by Ewan McGregor) had worked in the family publishing business with his two older brothers for some time, both as an editor and a salesman. So “Peter Rabbit” wasn’t Norman Warne’s first book. But it is true that he was Potter’s key contact in the firm. They worked closely together from 1901 on, publishing 11 books in five years. Soon they were exchanging letters almost daily, which were warmly affectionate despite being couched in the formal language of the era.
Though their friendship was deepening, they were rarely alone together, as the film amusingly showed. A chaperone dogged Potter’s steps whenever she left the house. But despite the obstacles, in the summer of 1905 Warne proposed-in a letter-and Potter joyfully accepted. They were late-bloomers in love. She was 39; Warne was 36.
Q. So they didn’t kiss until long after they got engaged?
A. We don’t know, but as proper Victorians they persisted in addressing each other as “Miss Potter” and “Mr. Warne.”
Q. Were her parents really so opposed to Potter’s engagement to Warne?
A. They were. Her parents were proud members of the snobby upper class of Victorian society. To have their beloved daughter marry into “trade” was insupportable. They did all they could to convince Potter to end the engagement. But independent woman that she was, she dug in her heels and refused.
Potter was a bit more courageous in confrontation than her younger brother, Bertram. Bertram had moved to Scotland in his 20s and fallen in love with someone “beneath” him. He married her, but so feared his parents’ anger that he hid the marriage from them for 11 years.
Q. Did Potter agree to keep her own engagement a secret?
A. She did offer that concession to her parents. As seen in the film, Potter and Warne agreed to only tell their immediate families at first. And Potter consented to join her parents in the country for the summer, leaving Warne in London. Her mother hoped she would forget him. It didn’t work. And without getting into any spoilers, what happens in the film after that summer passes is also true.
Potter moved to northern England later in life, and, as shown, used her fortune to buy thousands of acres of farmland threatened by developers, which she donated to the public after her death in 1943 at the age of 77. A conservationist before it was chic, a best-selling author despite the disapproval of her class, Beatrix Potter was in many ways a woman ahead of her time.
Q. Where can I find more information?
A. Try Judy Taylor’s charming “Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman.”
Cathy Schultz, Ph.D., is a history professor at the University of St. Francis in Illinois. You can reach her through her Web site at www.stfrancis.edu/historyinthemovies