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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Gillian Woodward.
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And I’m Roger Basick. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Most people have a hobby, an activity they do just for enjoyment. For some people it is playing sports. Some research their family history. For others, it is writing stories.
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Today’s Spotlight is on Beatrix Potter. Potter’s hobby was drawing. She would draw almost anything, and drew often. But Potter’s drawing would not remain a hobby for long. She would use her hobby to create some of the most beloved characters in children’s literature. And she did it all while celebrating the natural world she loved
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Beatrix Potter was born in 1886, in London. Her family was wealthy. Her father was a lawyer. Her mother was the daughter of a wealthy trader. Her early life was a series of travels to houses in the country. But Beatrix was not happy. There were things that her society expected of her, even as a little girl. There were ways people expected her to behave that she did not like. She did not enjoy her mother’s company. She had few friends.
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Potter escaped from these things into nature. She and her brother would hunt down animals and bugs. They would draw these animals together. Beatrix’s mind was very scientific. She would draw these animals with as much detail as possible. But she was also very creative. She would make up stories about these animals. She gave them personalities and names.
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It was clear early on that Potter was a very intelligent girl. But few women in her time went to school. When her brother went away to learn, she stayed home. Her parents employed a governess to teach her. Her name was Annie Moore. This private teacher gave her a basic education. But it did not prepare her for life on her own. Instead, she taught Potter to run a household.
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Still, Potter did not fit in with her society. As she grew up, she behaved like a good woman of her time. She lived with her parents. She took care of them. But she often escaped into nature. For a long time, she studied fungus. Fungus are organisms that are a little like plants. But they do not take energy from sunlight. Potter drew pictures of different funguses. She studied how they grew. She even tried to publish a paper on her findings. But publishers rejected her because she was a woman.
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Potter also continued to draw. It was all she could think about. She would draw anything that she could find. Once, she wrote in a letter:
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“It is all the same, drawing, painting, modeling. I have an irresistible desire to copy any beautiful object I see. I cannot rest. I must draw even if the result is poor. Sometimes a bad time comes over me. Then the desire is stronger than ever. It settles on the strangest things. Last time, it was the middle of September. I found myself in the back garden. I was making a careful copy of the pig food container. The laugh it gave me made me feel better.”
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By the time she was thirty, Potter was tired and unhappy. But one of the products of this time would soon lead to a great change in her life. Once, she was writing to the son of her old teacher, Annie Moore. Young Noel Moore was sick. Potter told the boy one of her stories to make him feel better. It was a story about a young rabbit, named Peter.
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In this story, Peter is the oldest of four children. But he does not act like it. Instead, he is playful and gets into trouble. His mother leaves to buy food. She tells him he can play outside. But he is not supposed to play in Mr. McGregor’s Garden.
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But the garden is the first place that Peter goes! He eats too much, and gets sick. Mr. McGregor finds him in the garden. He chases Peter down. Peter runs and hides. He does escape in the end. But he loses his new coat and shoes. His mother sends him to bed without dinner. His sisters, who were good, get a full meal.
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The story of Peter Rabbit was different than other children’s stories. In those days, children’s books were overly informative. They taught children how to behave. Often, they tried to frighten children into doing right. Potter’s stories were fun, instead. They were cheerful and encouraged creativity.
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Potter’s first letters also included drawings. These drawings were full of life. They were enjoyable, too. Moore was amazed by the letter. She told Potter that she should publish the story. Potter agreed.
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It took a long time for Potter to find a publisher. The story was the same as Potter’s letter. But Potter wanted to make her pictures better. Potter wanted the book to be small, so a child could hold it. She wanted it to cost less than other books. But people did not want to print that kind of book. In the end, she published it on her own.
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The Tale of Peter Rabbit was an immediate success. The book sold so well that a larger publisher asked to sell it. The publisher was called Warne. And Potter quickly started writing more books. She created characters out of animals from her gardens, like mice. These soft animals appealed to children. But they also taught about the natural world.
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Potter was also one of the first people to market her characters. She created several soft Peter Rabbit animals for children to play with. She drew wallpaper for children’s rooms. She even made a game about Peter’s story. At first, her publishers did not approve. But they soon changed their minds. Linda Lear is a writer. She wrote a book about Beatrix Potter’s life. She explained to the Smithsonian Magazine:
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“This kind of thing was not done. Warne was a big publisher. They did not want to risk doing something the public would not like. Then Potter started doing it herself. They thought, uh oh. So, they did it. Not surprisingly, it sold very well.”
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Potter’s business decisions made her wealthy. She used her wealth to move out of her parent’s home. She bought a farm in the English countryside. She became involved with raising sheep. And she used much of her wealth to save the natural world she loved.
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Over her lifetime, Potter wrote over sixty books. All of them involved animals. Most described imaginary parts of English country life. She retired from writing after many years. She would still write and draw for fun. But she spent most of her time managing her farm and properties. She once joked in a letter to one of her publishers:
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“I am very busy in work with real live animals. It makes a person dislike paper-book animals. But I should not say that to my publisher.”
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Today, Beatrix Potter’s characters are still popular. There are films still being made about Peter Rabbit. Her work led to dance performances, books, and television shows. But Potter’s greatest achievement is not because of her wealth or influence. Her books caused generations to explore the world around them. She encouraged them to use their imagination. And she taught them about the importance of nature.
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Beatrix Potters books came from her careful study of nature. How does nature inspire you? You can leave a comment on our website at www.spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X, formerly known as twitter. Or you can get programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
Voice 2
The writer of this program was Dan Christmann. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com.
Voice 1
This program is called, ‘Who Made Peter Rabbit’. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
Question:
Did you read or did your mother or father read books about Peter Rabbit when you were younger? How does nature inspire you?