Helen Beatrix Potter, one of the world’s most loved children’s book writers and illustrators, had a rather restricted childhood like many others who were born to the Victorian upper middle-class. She was home-schooled by private governesses till she turned eighteen. Her greatest pleasure was found in the world of art and nature. Her love for animals grew with age and many of her pets – Peter Rabbit and Benjamin, the bunnies, and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle the hedgehog – later appeared as characters in her books. Beatrix displayed an early talent for drawing. While visiting the countryside with her parents, she wrote illustrated postcards and letters for her governess’s children, and these formed the basis for her first and most famous book The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She was 27 when The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published, starting her highly successful career as an illustrator and writer.