Miss Potter

In 1893, at the age of 27, Helen Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) wrote a letter to the son of her former governess, which included drawings of a mischief-prone rabbit named Peter. Nine years later, she published the immediately successful Tale of Peter Rabbit, launching her career as the writer-artist-storyteller of an eventual 23 children’s books.

The 2006 movie Miss Potter, starring Renée Zellweger as Beatrix, traces Potter’s authorial trajectory, showing how, as one reviewer put it, she “all but invented children’s literature.” Ewan McGregor (no relation to “Mr. McGregor” in Peter Rabbit) plays her publisher and romantic interest, and Emily Watson plays his sister.

At the time of the movie’s release, all three lead actors commented on Potter’s remarkable qualities, with Zellweger stating, “When you read about Beatrix Potter’s life, it’s impossible to believe that it’s not fiction,” Watson declaring, “It’s about a woman who’s ahead of her time, she’s really a pioneering spirit,” and McGregor summing up, “It’s…a simple tale of an incredible woman.”

Potter grew up immersed in nature, literature, and drawing, over time developing an artistic and prose style that was “uniquely her own.” Miss Potter brings the author’s delight in her subject matter to life with clever live-action animation that conveys the artist’s “dreamy point of view.” Competing with the artwork is beautiful scenery from film locations in Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Cumbria in North West England.

We are told that Potter was also a “canny businesswoman,” pioneering the merchandising of book-adjacent items such as Peter Rabbit dolls and other material tie-ins to her books. Overall, however, this is a great story about building real wealth by following your passion. Potter’s books have sold an estimated 250 million copies.