The Private Life of Beatrix Potter

Duration: 1200 ft.

Year Published: 1970

Creator: Yorkshire Television

Complete Record: MS of older man walking along the English countryside. MS of him holding a magnifying glass to one eye. He is trying to crack a secret code that is in a journal. The journal is about the inventor of Peter Rabbit. Panning shot over all the works of B. Potter. (she wrote at least 16 books) Still portrait shots of B. Potter and her family. A woman remembers the Potter family. Beatrix was born in 1865. More family photos and stories. Beatrix developed a love for art and she began drawing at an early age. There are several stills of her drawings. She talks of her love for the country. EXT shots of the countryside and a horse drawn carriage, sheep, rolling hills, etc. It was here that she became at peace with her imagination. She started drawing fungi...mushrooms. They were so accurate that they became the standard illustration for mushrooms. She was hoping to make this her career but she was not trained well enough. She gave up all hope of the academic world. MS of an older woman remembering Beatrix from when she was a child. The camera pans over a letter that Beatrix wrote to this woman. It was the beginning of Peter Rabbit. She published her own books because nobody else would publish them for her. The Tale of Peter Rabbit cost her fourteen pounds to publish. Many other children’s books followed. EXT shots of different farm animals going about their day. Kittens, baby ducks, mice, etc. LS of wild horses running around the countryside. Beatrix died the day before Christmas. An older man recounts this story with tears in his eyes.