Growing up, Potter spent some of her time in the Lake Country of Northern England, where she developed a fondness for nature. Beatrix even did some painting of it. Her life changed greatly with the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The idea came from a very short story she had written for a friend's ill son, and Beatrix even added some illustrations. The project grew to the point where a book seemed like the next step.
Peter Rabbit did quite well, thank you. The first print run was 250 copies; it sold 50,000 copies in a little more than two years. The number has grown to 45 million copies in the century-plus since it came out. Potter did some other writing, and her sales total eventually went past 250 million.
You can learn all about Potter at this spot, which is on a good-sized hill and thus looks a little crooked. There are all sorts of interactive exhibits and films about her and her characters. A garden has been created to look like it came from the stories.
I missed Peter Rabbit growing up; I think I was reading about baseball throughout childhood. But Potter did quite well without me.
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