Beatrix Potter

This chapter highlights Beatrix Potter and the historical context of her accumulation of significant personal wealth. It discusses her two major sources of income: A northern industrial inheritance came to her in stages over the course of her life, and she earned a great deal as the author of a series of phenomenally lucrative children's books. The chapter then examines how Potter took a principled position on maintaining public access to the fells. It emphasizes that Potter placed little symbolic value on the collection of small donations from working people: she preferred quick transactions with single wealthy donors, enjoying high-powered negotiations. The chapter also looks at Potter's preservationism, arguing that it was predicated on a mix of aesthetic judgement and local priorities rather than a nationally orientated social progressivism. Ultimately, the chapter investigates how Potter freed herself from familial claustration in middle age for love, a companionable marriage, and a purposeful anonymity. Despite the enormous success of her books, and despite her close work with the National Trust, the chapter stresses that Potter's modus operandi was private and enabled by private means.