Miss Potter

I recently learned that two of Park School's students are a distant relatives of Beatrix Potter, the author "The Tale of Peter Rabbit".

Reminded me of a very good movie I saw a couple of years ago called "Miss Potter" which is based on the author's life.

Potter was a headstrong independent woman who grew up in a time when such women were not looked upon very favorably. In fact, when an uncle tried to enroll her as a student in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, she was rejected simply because she was female. Not dissuaded, Potter became an amateur mycologist (the study of fungi and lichens) and was soon regarded as an expert in the field. She was rarely able to present her work, however, because she was a woman.

In her spare time, Potter wrote "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" for the son of her governess. She was encouraged to publish it, but had difficulty finding someone willing to do so. Finally, a small publishing company decided to publish 8000 copies of the book. That was in 1902. By year's end the book sold 28,000 copies, and was the company's best seller. It has sold millions and millions of copies since.

This is a good film about a person following her heart's desire despite many many obstacles, including her own mother, in her path.

The film is well acted, with Rene Zellwegger as Potter and Ewan MacGregor (young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the second Star Wars trilogy) as her publisher. The film does a nice job of showing the creative process, too.

The dvd version includes a biography of Potter that covers her life after the events in the movie, her legacy in today's world and photos of her and the people in her life.

Two thumbs up.