Historian Sarah Gristwood follows Potter from her constricted Victorian childhood to the success and tragedy of the years 1901-13, when she published nearly all her major books yet was denied love by the death of her fiance. Finally, she traces the last 30 years of Potter's life, when she abandoned books to become a working farmer and pioneer of the conservation movement in the early days of the National Trust. Special features throughout the book will show how Beatrix Potter developed many of her most famous characters, including Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, and Jemima Puddleduck.