Beatrix Potter
January 2007 saw the release of the film entitled 'Miss Potter', an account of the life and times of Beatrix Potter featuring Renée Zellweger. Beatrix Potter is probably best known to the world for her beautifully illustrated children’s books including 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit'.
In order to authenticate some of her illustrations she frequently visited London’s Natural History Museum and, in particular, the Geology Department. Here she was befriended by Dr H. B. Woodward’s eldest daughter who often acted as her chaperone when she visited her publisher, Norman Warne. After a lengthy correspondence Norman Warne proposed to her and despite her parents’ objections that he was only a book-publisher, they became engaged. Sadly he died of leukemia while Beatrix was on holiday with her parents.
Much later in time after moving to the Lake District, she met and fell in love with a local solicitor, William Heelis, in the autumn of 1912. After William had proposed to her, she wrote a despairing letter to her cousin Caroline who lived in Harescombe Grange, Gloucestershire, in which she outlined her parents’ displeasure and objections to the intended marriage. Her free-thinking cousin replied immediately with forthright advice – to ignore her parents’ wishes and to be married quietly. This she did and in 1913, aged 47, she was married.
Before she took up writing children’s books it is clear that Beatrix had the mind of a professional scientist and biologist. She contributed a paper on mycology to the Linnean Society on 1 April 1897 entitled “Germination of the Spores of the Agraricinae”. She followed this up in correspondence with Charles McIntosh on the problems of fungal hybridization. Other scientific fields in which she was clearly interested included palaeontology where she enjoyed collecting fossils. She also collected and drew insects, but like her archaeological paintings this appears to have been a more recreational or artistic pursuit rather than a serious scientific study. Finally it seems that she put this creativity into breeding Herdwick sheep on her Lake District Farm.
Professor Brian Gardiner 8th January 2007
The Linnean Society published an article entitled “Helen Beatrix Potter: 1. Her interest in fungi”, by Roy Watling (The Linnean , January, 2000). Some highlights from this paper are included below.
Click here to read the full version of this article
Beatrix Potter and the Linnean Society
Beatrix Potter is probably best known to the world for her beautifully illustrated children’s books. She is much less well-known for her scientific work, particularly on the study of fungi.
The Linnean Society published an article entitled “Helen Beatrix Potter: 1. Her interest in fungi”, by Roy Watling (The Linnean, January, 2000). Some highlights from this paper are included below. The full version can be read here.
Beatrix Potter worked on five main areas of activity: biorecording, germination of fungal and lichen spores, the role of algae in the lichenized fungi, asexual stages in the life-cycle of macromycetes and questioning whether there were such things as hybrids in the last group. Her work is accompanied by beautiful illustrations of fungi. She visited the British Museum regularly and on 1st April 1897 her paper on the germinating biospores of agarics was presented at the Linnean Society.
There is a misconception that Beatrix Potter’s paper was not accepted by the Linnean Society for reading but this is erroneous. The Council Minutes of Thursday 18th March 1897 record the order for the paper to be refereed (Paper No 2978). The Register of Papers records that the paper was sent out for referral to George Murray on the 23rd of March and returned by March 25th. Beatrix Potter’s paper entitled ‘Germination of the spores of the Agaricinae’ was read at the Linnean Society on 1st April 1897. The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 1897, p.11 records 'The following paper was read:- "On the germination of the Spores of Agaricineae". By Miss Helen B. Potter. (Communicated by Mr George Massee, F.L.S.)'.
As was the custom of the day, the paper was not read to the Society by the author. The famous joint paper of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace entitled 'On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection' was read at a historic Society meeting of 1st July 1858. It outlined the new ideas on evolution that would revolutionalise the world of biology and ultimately Victorian society itself. This was read by the Secretary of the Society.
In a letter to Charles McIntosh (the famous Dunkeld naturalist who helped Beatrix Potter so much in her early career) dated 21st September 1897 she notes ‘… My paper was read at the Linnean Society and ‘well received’ according to Mr Massee, but they say it requires more work in it before it is printed”.
The Linnean Society Minute Book No 7 records that on Thursday 8th April, the request by Beatrix Potter to withdraw her paper was sanctioned. The additional work was never completed and resubmitted so sadly the paper never appeared in print.
Beatrix Potter’s interest in mycology seems to end in 1897 and although she illustrated fungi as part of her stories they only take from then on a minor role.
Beatrix Potter's fossils and her interest in Geology
Beatrix Potter became interested in Geology in her late twenties as a consequence of a visit to her cousins, the Hutton family, who lived in Harescombe Grange near Stroud, Goucestershire, in June 1894.
The Linnean Society published an article entitled “Beatrix Potter's fossils and her interest in Geology”, by Brian G. Gardiner (The Linnean , January, 2000).
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Flammulina velutipes - watercolour on paper From The Linnean, 16 (1) 2000
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