An illustrator in watercolors and author of children's books including The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902), The Tailor of Gloucester (1903) and The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies (1909), Beatrix Potter became internationally famous for her stories that 'humanized' animals such as Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, the hedgehog, and the garden thieving Peter Rabbit.

She was born in South Kensington, London, to wealthy parents, who had inherited Lancashire cotton industry land. Potter was raised in London and had a carefree childhood with tutoring from a governess but no formal schooling. She had obvious talent for drawing, and spent much time sketching at the Natural History Museum in London or at the family farm ...