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Six publishers turned down Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, so in 1901 she had 250 copies printed at her own expense. A year later Frederick Warne published it in colour, and it became one of the best-selling children's books of all time.

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The story behind the card

The story began in 1893 as an illustrated letter Potter wrote to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her former governess, while he was recovering from scarlet fever. It told of four little rabbits, and Peter was named after her own pet rabbit, Peter Piper. Potter (1866–1943) was a keen naturalist who drew animals from life, and she wanted a small book that a child could hold. Warne agreed to publish it if she redrew the pictures in colour, and its colour edition of October 1902 had sold 50,000 copies by the end of 1903. Total sales are now put at more than 45 million. Potter went on to write 23 tales, patented a Peter Rabbit doll in 1903 and used her earnings to buy farmland in the Lake District, leaving over 4,000 acres to the National Trust.

Türkçe oku
Beatrix Potter'ın Tavşan Peter'in Hikâyesi (The Tale of Peter Rabbit) adlı kitabını altı yayınevi geri çevirdi; Potter da 1901'de masrafını kendisi karşılayıp 250 kopya bastırdı. Bir yıl sonra Frederick Warne kitabı renkli olarak yayımladı; kitap, tüm zamanların en çok satan çocuk kitaplarından biri oldu.

Hikâye 1893'te bir mektupla başladı. Potter'ın eski mürebbiyesinin beş yaşındaki oğlu Noel Moore kızıl hastalığından yeni yeni iyileşiyordu; Potter ona dört küçük tavşanı anlatan resimli bir mektup yazdı. Peter adını Potter'ın kendi evcil tavşanı Peter Piper'dan aldı. Doğa meraklısı Potter (1866–1943) hayvanları canlı modellerden çizerdi ve bir çocuğun elinde tutabileceği küçük bir kitap istiyordu. Warne, resimleri renkli olarak yeniden yapması şartıyla kitabı basmayı kabul etti; Ekim 1902'de çıkan renkli baskı, 1903'ün sonuna kadar 50.000 kopya sattı. Toplam satış bugün 45 milyonun üzerinde. Potter toplam 23 hikâye yazdı, 1903'te bir Tavşan Peter oyuncağının patentini aldı ve kazancıyla İngiltere'nin Göller Bölgesi'nde çiftlikler satın aldı. Öldüğünde 16 kilometrekareyi aşan arazisini, doğayı ve tarihî yapıları koruyan National Trust vakfına bıraktı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Beatrix Potter
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