British Writers – Cottage Capers

On this day in history….28th July 1866

On this day in history : 28th July 1866 – The birth of Beatrix Potter – the creator of much loved characters such as Peter Rabbit…. But there was so much more to this favourite children’s author….

Born Helen Beatrix in South Kensington, London, she was the daughter of lawyer Rupert Potter and his wife Helen…. Beatrix had a somewhat lonely childhood; she was educated at home by governesses and hardly ever mixed with other children apart from her little brother, Walter Bertram, who arrived in 1872….

Both Beatrix and Walter loved animals and had many pets, including mice, frogs, snakes, lizards, bats, a hedgehog and rabbits….two of which were called Peter Piper and Benjamin Bouncer….

Beatrix Potter, aged 15, with her spaniel ‘Spot’ – Public domain

The family spent long holidays in the countryside each year…. During her younger years Beatrix’s parents would rent a house in Scotland for three months and then later, when she was 16, they began to rent Wray Castle, near to Ambleside in the Lake District…. It was here that Beatrix was to become acquainted with the vicar of Wray, Hardwick Rawnsley, who was to become a founding member of the National Trust…. It was his love of the countryside that was to inspire her….

Beatrix continued to study wildlife and botany – and she was invited to study fungi at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew…. With the encouragement of Scottish naturalist Charles McIntosh she became an accomplished scientific illustrator…. In 1896 Beatrix wrote a paper – ‘On the Germination of the Spores of Argaricinae’ – which was her own theory on the reproduction of fungi spores…. However, her paper was rejected by the director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, mainly because she was a woman…. But a year later a fungi expert at Kew presented her paper, on her behalf, to the Linnean Society of London…. Her work was never published but she is now accepted as being a major contributor to the research of mycology….

Beatrix Potter – ‘Reproductive System of Hygrocybe coccinea’ 1897 – Armitt Museum and Library – Public domain

Beatrix’s own personal artistic and literacy choices were influenced by her love of fantasy and fairy tales…. By her teen years she had become a regular visitor to art galleries in London…. During the 1890s she and her brother began to produce and print Christmas cards and other greetings cards…. Appealing animals such as mice and rabbits featured heavily…. Printing company Hildesheimer & Faulkner bought her illustrations of Benjamin Bunny….

The last of Beatrix’s governesses, Annie Moore, was only three years older than her and so was more of a companion – they were to become life long friends…. Annie was to have eight children and Beatrix would send them delightful illustrated letters from her holidays…. Tales about four little rabbits – Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter…. It was Annie who suggested these would make wonderful children’s books….

Peter feasts on Mr McGregor’s vegetables – Public domain

In 1900 Beatrix edited her stories and looked for a publisher – unsuccessfully…. Undeterred she had her book published at her own expense in December 1901 – she gave copies of her book, with its black and white illustrations, to family and friends as gifts…. Hardwick Rawnsley, having faith in her book, took it to the publishing houses himself…. Although previously rejected by Frederick Warne & Co. – and who had now decided they wanted to get into the children’s literature market – the book was accepted…. Beatrix added colour to her illustrations and on the 2nd of October 1902 ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ was published and became an instant success…. The next year it was followed by ‘The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin’ and ‘The Tailor of Gloucester’…. In all Beatrix wrote 23 such children’s tales….

With the proceeds of her books and the help of an inheritance from an aunt, in 1905 Beatrix bought Hill Top Farm near to Sawrey in the Lake District – a 17th century house with a 34 acre working farm…. The existing tenant farmer and his family agreed to carry on managing the farm whilst Beatrix learned how to raise livestock…. In the beginning she had cows, pigs and chickens….and then she added sheep….

Hill Top, near Sawrey – Image credit : Richerman – own work CC BY-SA 3.0

Beatrix then bought another neighbouring farm, ‘Castle Farm’ – using the services of a local solicitors firm – W.H. Heelis & Son…. Beatrix gained more than just a farm; on the 15th of October 1913 she and William Heelis were married in London…. They moved into the newly renovated farmhouse on Castle Farm…. ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck’ and ‘The Tale of Tom Kitten’ are a reflection of this happy time in her life….

In 1923 Beatrix bought Troutbeck Park Farm, a large sheep farm in the Troutbeck Valley…. She restored it with thousands of Herdwick sheep, a breed she had become enamoured with…. Beatrix was to become one of the main Herdwick sheep breeders in the Lake District…. In 1942 she became President-elect of the Herdwick Sheepbreeders’ Association – but sadly did not live long enough to take office….

Beatrix was to buy a total of 16 farms and was very much a ‘hands-on’ farmer herself – helping with hay making, bringing in thee sheep – or whatever else needed doing…. She continued her conservation and preservation of fell-farming work throughout the hardship years of World War 2 – but before the War had ended, on the 22nd of December 1943 she was to die from heart disease complicated by pneumonia….

Beatrix left the farms and some 4,000 acres of land, cottages, cattle and Herdwick sheep to the National Trust…. She also left to the Trust nearly all the original illustrations of her books…. Hill Top Farm was opened to the public in 1946 and her artwork was displayed there until 1985…. It was then moved to Wiliam’s former solicitor’s offices in Hawkshead – which had also been left to the National Trust…. This is now the Beatrix Potter Gallery….

Peter and Benjamin gather onions for Mrs Rabbit – Public domain

On this day in history….9th July 1901

On this day in history: 9th July 1901 – The birth of English romance novelist Dame Barbara Cartland – who was also the step-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales….

Barbara Cartland in 1987 – Allan Warren, own work – CC BY-SA 3.0

Dame Barbara was born Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland in Edgbaston, Birmingham, to Captain Bertram Cartland and Mary Hamilton Scobell…. She was educated at the Alice Ottley School and the Malvern Girls’ College…. At the end of World War One her father was killed and Barbara moved with her mother and two younger brothers to London – and it is then that she began to write….

Her first book ‘Jigsaw’ had been published by the time she had reached her early twenties…. In her writing career she was to write 723 books, which have been translated into some 38 languages…. She is especially known for her romance novels, particularly those set in the Victorian era – but she also wrote plays, drama, verse, magazine articles, music, operetta….and several biographies….

Barbara Cartland in 1925 – Public domain

Becoming known on London’s social scene as one of the ‘Bright Young People’ Barbara was the hostess of some of the most glamorous parties…. It is said she had over 50 proposals of marriage before finally settling for Captain Alexander McCorquodale – ‘Sachie’….a British army officer from Scotland – who was heir to a fortune in the shape of the family printing business…. The couple married on the 23rd of April 1927 and in the September of 1929 she gave birth to a daughter, Raine…. However, the marriage was not set to last and ended in divorce in 1933….

It was during the late 1920s and the 1930s that Barbara was to develop an interest in gliding…. In 1931 she came up with the idea of a ‘long distance tow’ – and she herself undertook a 200 mile tow in a 2-seater glider…. Her idea led to a troop-carrying glider – and later, in 1984, she was awarded the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for her contribution to aviation…. During the 1920s and 30s she could often be found at the Brooklands Airfield and Motor Racing Circuit….

On the 28th of December 1936 she married her former husband’s cousin, Hugh McCorquodale – and went on to have two sons, Ian in 1937 and Glen in 1939…. At the outbreak of World War Two she took her young family to Canada to escape the war but found she was unable to settle and so returned to England…. Once back on home soil she became Chief Lady Welfare Officer to the Services and immersed herself in the war effort and at the same time became involved in politics…. She also served with the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade…. In 1955 she was elected Conservative Councillor for Hertfordshire – and she campaigned for reforms to nursing homes, better pay for midwives and education for traveller children…. She was to serve as Councillor for 9 years – it was during this time that her husband passed away….

During the 1970s her writing success continued to grow – she even entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most prolific author alive…. It was also in this decade that she released an album of love songs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra….

1981 saw the marriage of her step-granddaughter, Diana and Prince Charles…. However, Barbara was not invited to the wedding…. Although Barbara and Diana had always got on – Diana was a keen reader of her step-grandmother’s books, who would often send copies to her – a rift had now developed between them…. Barbara was publicly critical of Charles and Diana’s divorce – but the two had made their peace shortly before Diana’s death in 1997….

Barbara was made a Dame in 1991 for almost 70 years of literacy, political and social contributions…. In her later years she was always a popular figure with the media and made many television appearances, including ‘This is Your Life’….twice! Instantly recognisable by her love of pink, blonde wig and heavy makeup, she was iconic, if not also a little formidable….

Dame Barbara carried on writing into her 90s and since her death – peacefully at home on the 21st of May 2000 – many of her 160 unpublished manuscripts have been published posthumously….

Dame Barbara Cartland, aged 98 – Public domain

British History

On this day in history….12th June 1819

On this day in history : 12th June 1819 – The birth of English clergyman, university lecturer, historian, social reformer, novelist and poet Charles Kingsley – author of the classic ‘The Water Babies’….

Charles Kingsley – photograph by Charles Watkins – Credit : Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0

Kingsley was born in Holne, Devon, the eldest son of the Reverend Charles Kingsley and Mary Lucas Kingsley…. His younger brother, Henry and sister, Charlotte were also to become writers…. His childhood was spent in Clovelly and then Barnack, Northamptonshire…. He was to develop a keen interest in geology and nature…. He attended grammar school before King’s College, London and then entering Cambridge University in 1838…. Upon graduating in 1842 he decided on a life in the Church and became Rector of Eversley, Hampshire in 1844….

St Mary’s, Eversley – Photo credit : Elisa Rolle, own work CC BY-SA 4.0

Influenced by the work of theologian Frederick Denison Maurice it was in 1848 that Kingsley became the founding member of the Christian Socialist Movement…. It was the Movement’s aim to seek ways of combatting the evils of industrialisation through Christian ethics….

In 1851 Kingsley’s first novel ‘Yeast’ was published – although it had been serialised in Fraser’s Magazine three years before…. It dealt with the social issues between the poor and the gentry…. The previous year his second novel ‘Alton Locke’ had been published – the story of a tailor, who was also a poet and who becomes a leader of the Chartist Movement in the fight against enforced long working hours and poor working conditions….

Kingsley was a great advocate of adult education…. He believed in the growth of the co-operative movement and he fought for improved sanitation and living conditions….

Charles Kingsley – photo by Cundall & Downes – Credit : Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0

By the mid 1850s he had begun to write popular novels with ‘Hypatia’ being published in 1853 with a setting in early Christian Europe and ‘Westward Ho’ in 1854 and set in the Elizabethan period….

In 1859 Kingsley became Chaplain to Queen Victoria and was made Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University the following year…. In 1861 he became private tutor to the Prince of Wales…. Then in 1870 he was made Canon of Chester Cathedral where he served until 1873 – before being made Canon of Westminster Abbey….

He continued to pursue his other interests; he formed the Chester Society for National Science in 1872 – he had been one of the first to champion Charles Darwin’s ‘On Origin of Species’…. He remained highly critical of Roman Catholicism, which had controversially led to a public spat in print with theologian and poet Cardinal John Henry Newman…. Kingsley was a family man, he and wife Frances Eliza Grenfell had four children….

He continued to write throughout his life…. ‘Hereward the Wake’ was published in 1866 and was set in Anglo Saxon England at the time of the Norman Conquest…. But his most famous book, the children’s fantasy tale about a boy chimney sweep, ‘The Water Babies, A Fairy Tale For A Land Baby’ was published in 1863…. It is a story that combined so many elements of Kingsley’s life…. His interest in nature and his own theory on evolution, to his concerns on welfare reforms and the need for better sanitation….

1885 cover of The Water-Babies – Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library CC BY 2.0

Kingsley died in Eversley on the 23rd of January 1875….

British History

On this day in history….2nd June 1840

On this day in history : 2nd June 1840 – The birth of English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy – who brought us classics such as ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’, ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ and ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’….

Thomas Hardy between 1910-1915 – Public domain

Hardy was born in Upper Bockhampton (now Higher Bockhampton) in the parish of Stinsford, near Dorchester…. His father was a stonemason and builder – and his mother, being educated, was his teacher at home until he went to school at the age of 8…. He attended Mr Last’s Academy for Young Gentlemen until he was 16 – he learned Latin and showed promising potential but the family did not have the means for him to go to university…. Instead he became an architect’s apprentice….

Hardy’s birthplace at Higher Bockhampton – Image credit : Martinevans123 – own work – Public domain

Hardy moved to London in 1862 and enrolled at King’s College…. He then joined the architecture practice of Arthur Bloomfield and became involved mainly with the restoration of churches…. However, he found it hard to settle in London – he became all too aware of class division in the city and felt himself to be socially inferior…. It led to him developing an interest in social reform…. By 1867 he’d had enough of London and returned to Dorset, to live in Weymouth…. It was at this time that he began to concentrate on his writing – although for his first novel ‘The Poor Man and the Lady’ he was unable to find a publisher…. After being advised by his friend, the poet and novelist George Meredith, that his book was too political Hardy destroyed the manuscript…. His next two novels, ‘Desperate Remedies’ (1871) and ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ (1872) were published anonymously…. His 1873 novel ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes’ was inspired by his courtship of his future wife….

Hardy met Emma Gifford whilst working on the restoration of the parish church of St Juliot in Cornwall during 1870…. It was to be a long courtship, they eventually married in Paddington, London on the 17th of September 1874…. Being unable to have children may have put a strain on the marriage – it is known that they did not get along together very well…. Her delusions of superiority would not have helped matters much either – Emma regarded herself as being above her husband socially and it appears did little to hide her feelings….

In 1885 they moved into ‘Max Gate’ – a house which Hardy had designed himself and was built by his brother…. Emma became involved with the Suffragist movement and she and Hardy began to lead separate lives, to the point of becoming estranged…. In 1912 she died – and despite their differences Hardy was devastated…. Nevertheless, just two years later he married Florence Emily Dugdale, his secretary and nearly forty years his junior…. Florence was also a writer in her own right, as the author of children’s stories….

Hardy’s own writing career was now beyond established…. ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’ had been written in 1874, ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ in 1886 followed by ‘Woodlanders’ in 1887…. ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ was met with controversy in 1891 and was initially refused publication – Victorian society was scandalised that a fallen woman could be viewed in a sympathetic light…. ‘Jude the Obscure’, published in 1895 was even more controversial – due to the way it dealt with religion, marriage and sex….

In December 1927 Hardy developed pleurisy – he died at home on the 11th of January 1928…. His funeral was held on the 16th of January at Westminster Abbey…. He had always expressed his wish to be buried with his first wife, Emma…. However, it was insisted upon that he be interred at Poets’ Corner within Westminster Abbey…. Therefore a compromise was reached…. Hardy’s ashes were indeed interred in the Abbey – but his heart was buried with Emma at Stinsford….

Max Gate is now owned by the National Trust – as is his birthplace at Bockhampton….

Max Gate, 2015 – Image credit DeFacto – own work – CC BY-SA 4.0

British History

On this day in history….22nd May 1859

On this day in history : 22nd May 1859 – The birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the British medical doctor and writer – and the creator of Sherlock Holmes….

Arthur Conan Doyle in 1914 – Public domain

Doyle was born at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh; his father was born in England but both of his parents were of Irish Catholic descent…. The family split up in 1864 due to his father’s alcoholism and Doyle stayed with a family friend whilst continuing his education at Newington Academy…. In 1867 the family reunited but were living in poor conditions in a run-down tenement flat….

However, thanks to his wealthy uncles, Doyle was sent away to school in England at the age of 9…. He was to attend the Jesuit preparatory school, Hodder Place in Stonyhurst, Lancashire…. After leaving in 1875 he spent a year studying in Austria and then until 1881 studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School…. He was also to study botany at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden….

It was at this time that Doyle began to write short stories…. His first published work was in the Chambers Edinburgh Journal in September 1879; it was a story set in South Africa, entitled ‘The Mystery of Sasassa Valley’….

Portrait of Doyle by Herbert Rose Barraud 1893 – Public domain

Doyle graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery in 1881 and joined the crew of SS Mayumba as Ship’s Surgeon on a voyage to the west coast of Africa….He then went on to complete his Doctor of Medicine Degree and in 1882 became a partner in a medical practice in Plymouth…. However, it was a difficult working relationship and so he moved to the Portsmouth area to set up his own practice at 1, Bush Villas, Elm Grove, Southsea…. But his medical practice was slow to take off – and so he began to write fiction to fill in his time…. In November 1886 publishers Ward Lock & Co bought his first work featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson ‘A Study in Scarlet’…. Doyle had written it in just three weeks and the character of Holmes was based on Joseph Bell, one of his former university lecturers…. The story was received well by the public – and Doyle was commissioned to write a follow-up…. ‘The Sign of the Four’ first appeared in February 1890….

In 1885 Doyle married Louisa Hawkins and they had two children, Mary Louise in 1889 followed by a son, Kingsley in 1892…. However, his wife, a TB sufferer, died in 1906…. By this time Doyle had moved his medical practice to London and had been heavily involved with the design of the house he had built for his family…. They lived at ‘Undershaw’, near to Hindhead, Surrey from October 1897 to September 1907…. It became a hotel in 1924, closing in 2004 and then controversially stood empty falling into disrepair to the point of being derelict…. Rows about planning and development rumbled on – but finally in 2016 it opened as a school for children with disabilities….

Undershaw, with Doyle’s children, Mary and Kingsley, in the driveway – Public domain

In 1907 Doyle married Jean Elizabeth Leckie and had three more children; Denis 1909, Adrian 1910 and Jean 1912…. Sadly none of his children had offspring of their own – and so Doyle has no direct descendants….

Doyle with his family in New York, 1922 – Public domain

However, he was to leave us a legacy that includes many novels and short stories; there are 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories and 4 novels alone….

Doyle had many other interests in life…. He was a keen sportsman, playing football, cricket and golf…. He was an amateur boxer and even played billiards…. He became involved with politics at the turn of the century…. He was agnostic – despite his Catholic upbringing – and later in life became a spiritualist mystic…. He was also a Freemason, having been initiated in Southsea in 1887….

Doyle in 1930, the year of his death – with son Adrian – Image credit : Bundesarchiv CC BY-SA 3.0DE

Doyle died of a heart attack on the 7th of July 1930 at his home in Windlesham Manor at Crowborough, East Sussex…. He was originally buried there in the rose garden – but after the death of his wife in 1940 he was reinterred with her in the New Forest….