Beatrix Potter

Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) was an English author, illustrator and conservationist, best known for her Peter Rabbit Series children's books.It was not until she was in her thirties Potter that Potter published the first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (first published privately in 1902), which was an immediate success and followed by a further 22 children's books. She also bought many farms in the Lake District, which she took an active role in managing. She died in 1943, and left almost all of her property to The National Trust in order to preserve the beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers. Being rather fragile books, and generally given to young children, surprisingly few early copies survive intact. They are highly sought after.