'The earlier books, including the later printed ‘Pig Robinson’, were written for real children in picture letters of scribbled pen and ink. I confess that afterwards I painted most of the little pictures to please myself…'
Draft Letter to Bertha Mahony Miller, 25 November 1940
National Trust collection (the finished letter belongs to The Horn Book collection)
Beatrix’s last and favourite governess, Annie Carter, left the Potter household in 1886 to marry Edwin Moore, and Beatrix remained in contact with her and her growing family.
Beatrix would visit the Moore children, often accompanied by her pet mice or rabbit; and when Beatrix was on holiday, she would write to them. Her letters were often illustrated with pen and ink sketches, and sometimes told stories when there was no news to tell.
Some of Beatrix’s earlier books originate in the stories first told in these letters to the Moores and other children of her acquaintance.
It was the eldest of the Moore children, Noel, who received a letter from Beatrix while she was on holiday in Scotland in 1893, telling the story of a naughty rabbit named Peter. Beatrix later had the idea of turning the story into a book.
When the story, with its black and white illustrations, was rejected by six publishers, she decided to have it printed herself. An edition of 250 copies was issued in December 1901, and proved so successful that a further 200 copies were issued in February 1902.
Meanwhile, the publishers Frederick Warne & Co had reconsidered – on condition that Beatrix provided coloured illustrations - and a commercial edition was published in October 1902. It was an immediate success, selling 50,000 copies in just over a year. Since that time, The Tale of Peter Rabbit has never been out of print.
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