Helen Beatrix (Potter) Heelis (1866 - 1943)

Born 28 Jul 1866 in Kensington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of William Dickinson Heelis — married 14 Oct 1913 in Kensington, London, England

Died 22 Dec 1943 at age 77 in Near Sawry, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Beatrix (Potter) Heelis is Notable.

Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist, best known for her imaginative children's books, featuring animals such as those in the Tale of Peter Rabbit, which celebrated the British landscape and country life.

Beatrix Potter

Helen Beatrix Potter, daughter and first born child of Rupert William Potter and Helen Leech, was born July 28, 1866 at 2 Bolton Gardens, Kensington, London, England.^[1] It was six years later, in 1872, that her brother, Walter Bertram Potter, was born and it was in this year that Beatrix was introduced to her first governess, Miss Flora Hammond.^[2]

During childhood Beatrix rarely saw her brother, who attended boarding school, and had very little contact with children her own age. She was drawn into her own world and began to write stories based on animals. Being a talented artist, she added her own illustrations. Spending her childhood summer holidays in the Lake District, she was surrounded by wildlife and countryside and developed an interest in natural history.^[3]

When Beatrix was in her 20s, she unsuccessfully tried to get her books published. Finally in 1902, Beatrix, now 36, had her first book, Peter Rabbit, published by Frederick Warne of Frederick Warne & Co. The company hadn't held out much hope for the book and had passed the project to the younger brother, Norman Warne, who turned out to be an excellent choice. Within the first year, 28,000 copies were in print. ^[4]

Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were – Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)

The working relationship between Beatrix and Norman blossomed and they eventually became engaged in 1906. Tragically, before the wedding took place, Norman Warne died of pernicious anaemia. Naturally, Beatrix was devastated and she moved to Hill Top Farm in Sawrey, where she lived for the rest of her life.^[5]

Aged 47, Beatrix married William Heelis, a local solicitor, October 14, 1913 at Kensington, London. In 1926, with failing eye sight, Beatrix published her last book and turned her attention to sheep breeding, at which she was very successful. ^[2] William and Helen can be found on the 1939 Register, living in Sawrey, where William is shown as a solicitor, and Helen describes herself as a farmer of private means. ^[6]

Beatrix died December 22, 1943 in Sawrey. In her will she left over 4000 acres to the National Trust. It is one of the biggest legacies ever left.^[7] During her lifetime Beatrix Potter had 23 books in the Peter Rabbit series published, the copyright of which was bequeathed to Norman Warne's nephew, Frederick Warne Stephens upon her death. The copyright expired in the UK January 1, 2014. ^[2]

Publications

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit (privately printed, 250 copies, 1901)
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
• The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903)
• The Tailor of Gloucester (1903)
• The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904)
• The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904)
• The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (1905)
• The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan (1905)
• The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1906)
• The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit (1906)
• The Story of Miss Moppet (1906)
• The Tale of Tom Kitten (1907)
• The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908)
• The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or, The Roly-Poly Pudding (1908)
• The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies (1909)
• The Tale of Ginger and Pickles (1909)
• The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse (1910)
• The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes (1911)
• The Tale of Mr. Tod (1912)
• The Tale of Pigling Bland (1913)
• Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes (1917)
• The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse (1918)
• Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes (1922)
• The Tale of Little Pig Robinson (1930)

Other books

• Peter Rabbit's Painting Book (1911)
• Tom Kitten's Painting Book (1917)
• Jemima Puddle-Duck's Painting Book (1925)
• Peter Rabbit's Almanac for 1929 (1928)
• The Fairy Caravan (1929)
• Sister Anne (illustrated by Katharine Sturges) (1932)
• Wag-by-Wall (decorations by J. J. Lankes) (1944)
• The Tale of the Faithful Dove (illustrated by Marie Angel) (1955, 1970)
• The Sly Old Cat (written 1906; first published 1971)
• The Tale of Tuppenny (illustrated by Marie Angel) (1973)
• The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots (2016)[72] (Illustrated by Quentin Blake.)
• Red Riding Hood (2019) (Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.)
• The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson (illustrated by Eleanor Taylor)
• The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson (illustrated by Eleanor Taylor)
• The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson (illustrated by Eleanor Taylor)

In Film

In 1982, the BBC produced The Tale of Beatrix Potter. This dramatisation of her life was written by John Hawkesworth, directed by Bill Hayes, and starred Holly Aird and Penelope Wilton as the young and adult Beatrix, respectively. The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, was a TV series based on her nine of twenty-four stories, which starred actress Niamh Cusack as Beatrix Potter.

In 1993, Weston Woods Studios made an almost hour non-story film called Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman with narration by Lynn Redgrave and music by Ernest Troost.

In 2006, Chris Noonan directed Miss Potter, a biographical film of Potter's life focusing on her early career and romance with her editor, Norman Warne. The film stars Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, and Emily Watson.

On 9 February 2018, Columbia Pictures released Peter Rabbit, directed by Will Gluck, based on the work by Potter.

Sources

1. ↑ England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-1920, index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2X9R-52F : accessed 09 Aug 2014), Helen B Potter, 1866.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Lear, Linda. Beatrix Potter. The Extraordinary Life of a Victorian Genius. January 1, 2006. Accessed August 9, 2014. http://www.bpotter.com/Default.aspx.
3. ↑ The Life of Beatrix Potter. Peter Rabbit. Accessed August 9, 2014. http://www.peterrabbit.com/en.
4. ↑ Biography Beatrix Potter. Biography Online. Accessed August 9, 2014. http://www.biographyonline.net/writers/beatrix-potter.html.
5. ↑ Beatrix Potter. The Biography.com website, http://www.biography.com/people/beatrix-potter-9445208 (accessed Aug 09 2014).
6. ↑ Findmypast 1939 register Ref: RG101/4957D/008/33 Letter Code: NZQH
7. ↑ Frederick Warne & Co., 1989. The Complete Tales Of Beatrix Potter. Print. Penguin Books Ltd: Middlesex, England.

Find A Grave: Memorial #3478 Beatrix Potter

See Also:

• Beatrix Potter's fossils and her interest in geology – B. G. Gardiner:

https://web.archive.org/web/20101126154132/http://linnean.org/fileadmin/images/Beatrix_Potter/BPotter_fossils.pdf

• Works by Beatrix Potter at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks): https://librivox.org/author/1049?primary_key=1049&search_category=author&search_page=1&search_form=get_results
• Beatrix Potter at the Encyclopedia of Fantasy: http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=potter_beatrix
• Collection of Potter materials at Victoria and Albert Museum: https://web.archive.org/web/20090505073415/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/potter/index.html
• Beatrix Potter online feature at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences: https://web.archive.org/web/20061212025728/http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/enroom/illustrators/potter.htm
• Beatrix Potter Society, UK: https://beatrixpottersociety.org.uk/
• Exhibition of Beatrix Potter's Picture Letters at the Morgan Library: https://www.themorgan.org/collection/Beatrix-Potter-Picture-Letters
• Beatrix Potter Collection (digitized images from the Free Library of Philadelphia: https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/search/?subcollection=151
• Wikidata: Item Q214565
• Beatrix Potter article on Wikipedia.
• The Works of Beatrix Potter on Project Gutenberg
• New York Times obituary 19 Jan 2024 Overlooked No More: Beatrix Potter, Author of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/obituaries/beatrix-potter-overlooked.html?smid=nytcore-android-share