Between the ages of fifteen and thirty, Beatrix Potter kept a secret journal written in code. It was not until more than twenty years after her death that the code was cracked by the patient work of Leslie Linder. When the Journal was published, in 1966, it revealed a remarkable picture of upper-middle-class life in late-Victorian Britain.
Written with liveliness, humour and at times precocious insight, the Journal reflects the young Beatrix Potter's shrewd judgement of human character and depicts the life of her family and their friends in the world of art and politics. Despite a sheltered upbringing, she shows an awareness of current events and social change and, above all, demonstrates her consuming interest in natural history. The entries also reveal her talent as a descriptive writer: the keen sense of place and the ability to evoke atmosphere and personality in the minimum of words, which make her stories so memorable, are already present in her delightful descriptions of the landscapes of Perthshire and the Lake District where she spent many childhood summers, and in her perceptive portraits of the local inhabitants. It is but a short step from these pages to the magical world of Mr McGregor's garden.
Glen Cavaliero's illuminating Introduction looks at the Journal in the context both of Beatrix Potter's life and times, and of her development as a writer and artist. The original diaries run to over 200,000 words; this careful selection from that rich source will make the personality and inspiration of the world's best-loved children's author more accessible to the millions for whom her tales are among their happiest childhood memories.
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