Cover illustration from The Tale
of Two Bad Mice
© Copyright Frederick Warne & Co, 2004
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Beatrix Potter’s Little Books
Beatrix’s stories were written directly for children and many started life
as picture letters to children of her family and friends. The Tale of Peter
Rabbit was Beatrix Potter’s first published children’s book. It
began life as a letter to Noel Moore, written in 1893.
“My dear Noel, I don’t know what to write to you, so I
shall tell you a story about four little rabbits ….”
In 1900, Beatrix borrowed back the letter and worked up a plan to get the story
published. When at least six companies rejected her proposal, she decided to
publish it herself. The privately printed edition was a great success and soon
Beatrix had a publishing offer from Frederick Warne & Co.
Warne’s first edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902
and was immediately popular, selling around 46,000 copies in the first twelve
months. Warne and Potter soon began to work on many more stories including,
'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin', 'The Tailor of Gloucester',
'The Tale of Benjamin Bunny' and 'The Tale of Two Bad
Mice'.
Beatrix had strong ideas about how her books should be presented, down to size,
price and overall look. She also realised the wider market appeal of her
characters and initiated the development of related merchandise, such as the
Peter Rabbit doll manufactured by Steiff, Germany, in 1903. She always took an
interest in all of the creative and commercial matters surrounding her
characters and books.
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