The place is changed now, and many familiar faces are gone, but the greatest change is myself. I was a child then, I had no idea what the world would be like. I wished to trust myself on the waters and the sea. Everything was romantic in my imagination. The woods were peopled by the mysterious good folk. The Lords and Ladies of the last century walked with me along the overgrown paths, and picked the old fashioned flowers among the box and rose hedges of the garden.

Sister Anne Potter’s version of the story of Bluebeard was written especially for her American readers but illustrated by Katharine Sturges. By the summer of 1912 Heelis had proposed marriage and Beatrix had accepted although Beatrix Potter did not immediately tell her parents who once again disapproved because Heelis was only a country solicitor. Tittlemouse a wood mouse) reflect her increasing participation in village life and her delight in country living.

Her artistic talents were recognized early. Born into a privileged Unitarian family Potter along with her younger brother Walter Bertram (1872–1918) grew up with few friends outside her large extended family. With the proceeds from the books and a legacy from an aunt Potter bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey a tiny village in the English Lake District near Ambleside in 1905.