Happy Birthday, Beatrix Potter

Peter Rabbit is very much a part of American culture today - and possibly British, too. Today is the birthday of Beatrix Potter, creator of that mischievous rabbit. I thought posting a few links would be appropriate:

• "Beatrix Potter's Birthday is July 28; A Woman 'Ahead of Her Time' "
  Associated Content (July 28, 2008)
  Peter Rabbit Creator is 142
  • "Today is the birthday of iconic writer Beatrix Potter, InEntertainment reports. The author of the famous book, 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit,' was born on July 28, 1866, and died December 22, 1943.
  • "According to the article, Potter was born into a privileged family, but was very sad because she was kept isolated by her family. In seeing that she wrote 23 books and further, that she also was an illustrator, mycologist and conservationist, it seemed to me it made sense to find out a little more about her, especially since Peter Rabbit was such a big part of my life...."
• "Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter"
  UVA - Univeristy of Virginia (July 28, 2008)
  • "Celebrating a posthumous birthday today, the author and illustrator of the famed Peter Rabbit series would have been 142-years-old.
  • "She cultivated a career in a time when the cultural climate and her family discouraged it...."
• "Beatrix Potter in Cumbria"
  VisitCumbria
  • "Beatrix Potter was born on 28 July 1866 in South Kensington, London. She lived a lonely life at home, being educated by a governess and having little contact with other people. She had many animals which she kept as pets, studying them and making drawings.
  • "Her parents took her on three month summer holidays to Scotland, but when the house they rented became unavailable, they rented Wray Castle near Ambleside in the Lake District. Beatrix was 16 when they first stayed here. Her parents entertained many eminent guests, including Hardwicke Rawnsley vicar of Wray Church, who in 1895 was to become one of the founders of the National Trust.
  • "His views on the need to preserve the natural beauty of Lakeland had a lasting effect on the young Beatrix, who had fallen in love with the unspoilt beauty surrounding the holiday home...."

Funny: Everyone seems to see their own interests in Beatrix Potter. And here I thought was a gifted storyteller and artist, who published a story about a rabbit that became a cultural icon.

Come to think of it, I'm interested in art and literature.