Beatrix first had success making greeting cards, but she also wrote and illustrated stories for friends. One such story was The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In 1902, the publisher Frederick Warne & Co. published Peter Rabbit, and it quickly became popular with young readers. Several tales followed, including The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Tom Kitten, and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. In total, Beatrix wrote 28 books in her lifetime, many of which became instant children’s classics.
A portrait of Beatrix outside of her home in the Lake District, by Charles G.Y. King
WRITING IN NATURE
Throughout her life, Beatrix remained fascinated by nature and animals. Beatrix moved from being a writer in London to a farmer in the countryside of the English Lake District (see top left). Later in life, she wrote less and spent a lot of her time tending her farms and sheep. In particular, she raised a local breed of sheep, the Herdwick, for which she won many prizes. Her commitment to nature and the environment was ahead of its time, and today she would be called a conservationist. She actively campaigned about nature and was a smart businesswoman. When she died, she left 4,000 acres of land and farms to the National Trust, a nature preservation organization in England.
Beatrix Potter’s work remains just as popular today as it was in her lifetime. Her works have been translated into 35 languages and have sold over 100 million copies. And 110 years after the publication of her first book, Beatrix’s fans have a new surprise in store. A long-lost and previously unpublished story, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, was found in 2014. The text, illustrated by prize-winning artist Quentin Blake, is available September 2016!
Beatrix’s home in the English Lake District was Yew Tree Farm, pictured here. It can still be visited today.
VIRGINIA WOOLF LITERARY PIONEER
FULL NAME: Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf
BORN: JANUARY 25, 1882, LONDON, U.K.
DIED: MARCH 28, 1941, NEAR LEWES, EAST SUSSEX, U.K.
NATIONALITY: BRITISH
“A woman must have money and a room of her own …”
VIRGINIA WOOLF
A FAMILY OF ARTISTS
Virginia Woolf is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. She helped kick-start modernism—a major art movement that rejected traditional ideas and instead focused on brand-new concepts that fit better in the modern, industrial world. Modernism included every art form—from painting to novels, music to architecture—and continues to influence styles of art today.
Adeline Virginia Stephen was born into a very artistic family (including her great aunt, the famous portrait photographer Julia Margaret Cameron—see here). One of eight children, young Virginia was especially close to her sister Vanessa (later the famous painter Vanessa Bell). Writerly from childhood, at the age of nine Virginia founded the family newspaper, the Hyde Park News. The family suffered a series of tragedies, with the death of Virginia’s mother, followed by that of two of her siblings and her father. These sadnesses contributed to Virginia’s depression, but they would also later be channeled into her writing.
THE BLOOMSBURY BOHEMIANS
Around 1907, Virginia and Vanessa moved to Bloomsbury, in London, where they held informal gatherings of bohemian artists and thinkers. Virginia met Leonard Woolf, who would become her husband and chief supporter for the rest of her life. The group quickly became the “Bloomsbury Group”—a talented group of artists, writers, and philosophers with a strong influence over the London art scene. Virginia and her writing were in the middle of it all.
The Bloomsbury Group of like-minded artists and writers lived in this square in Bloomsbury, London. The area was a hive of creativity for a number of years.
Virginia had unique thoughts on how to construct a novel. She liked the idea of not plotting a story from A to B, but instead following her natural flow of thoughts (a technique known as “stream-of-consciousness”). She also wrote about everyday, domestic happenings rather than great, dramatic events. Her first novels, including The Voyage Out, were more traditional, but the more she wrote, the more she experimented. In the course of her life, Virginia wrote reviews, essays, diaries, letters, and novels and became one of the most influential and respected writers of the era.
A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN
In 1917, Virginia and Leonard started a publishing company, called the Hogarth Press. It soon became a major publisher of modernist works and published over 500 books. In addition to being a writer, Virginia was a social activist and later feminist icon, exploring themes of class, war, women’s rights, and politics in her writing. The 1929 essay A Room of One’s Own contains Virginia’s most famous feminist remark, which became a slogan for later feminists aiming to achieve success in all areas: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
Virginia’s mental health grew worse over the years, and in 1941 she committed suicide. In spite of such a tragic end, at the age of only 59, the great writer’s works live on larger than life. Her most famous novels, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and Jacob’s Room, remain classics of modern literature. Virginia’s voice was unique and ahead of its time. Her style has influenced generations of writers, as well as artists and film-makers.
COCO CHANEL FASHION ICON AND ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERS OF ALL TIME
FULL NAME: Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel
BORN: AUGUST 19, 1883, SAUMUR, FRANCE
DIED: JANUARY 10, 1971, PARIS, FRANCE
NATIONALITY: FRENCH
More than 100 years after Coco Chanel hit the fashion scene, her stylish designs and recognizable logo remain iconic all over the world.
FAREWELL TO THE CORSET
Voted one of the top fashion icons of all time by Time magazine, Coco Chanel was a game-changer in the world of women’s fashion. Before she made an impact with her designs, women squeezed themselves into corsets and super-feminine dresses. Coco was seen as revolutionary—bringing looser, more “masculine” clothes to women. She was one of the first women to wear pants, and the first to design pajamas and lightweight sportswear for women. Coco introduced the now-iconic “little black dress,” and her tweed skirt suits, costume jewelry, and simple yet elegant designs have become staples in the world of women’s apparel.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, stylishly posed, in 1920
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