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TracyFD
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After finally seeing the movie, Miss Potter, I couldn't help but wonder if there was any relationship between Beatrix Potter and Charlotte Mason, being that they both hailed from the Lake District. So I Googled. Lo and behold, Mary at Lakeway Learning confirms my suspicion!
"Miss Mason chose Ambleside for the location of her school because she knew the area well from frequent visits to her college friend, Selina Heelis, whose family resided in Ambleside. An interesting aside, Miss Heelis was a member of the family into which Beatrix Potter married!"
How fascinating! Does anyone know more about this? And does Mary from Lakeway Learning visit this 4Real board?
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Tracy
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Grace&Chaos
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Yes, we are a little behind! We finally watched this movie last night and my girls loved it.   I have to say that Tracy's thought immediately came to mind as did so many others. I tried searching Beatrix Potter Biography here, but came up empty. Also, the link doesn't seem to work. Does anyone know what it should be?
What do you recommend for learning more about her, Miss Potter that is?  (or if you can point me to the right thread, thanks so much)
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 15 2011 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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There is a connection between the two, albeit a distant one. The connection is that CM was good friends with Selina Heelis who lived in Ambleside. In my research that I did a few years ago, I believe that Selina is the younger sister to John Heelis, William Heelis' father. If you recall, William Heelis and Beatrix Potter married at the end of Miss Potter. William and Beatrix married in 1913; Beatrix was 47 years old. So, Selina was William's Aunt. The entire Heelis family lived in Ambleside, and so did Beatrix after her fiance's death.
CM established her House of Education in Ambleside in 1892 so it's clear that they both lived in the Ambleside area at the same time for many years. You can read about Ambleside's history here, and pay special attention when you scroll down to the section entitled "The Last 150 Years". There you'll see the MANY big names that settled in Amazon, to include Miss Charlotte Mason and Mrs. William Heelis/Beatrix Potter.
You can read a little bit about the distant connection as it relates to CM at the Armitt Archives.
This page has some very interesting insight and history into the relationship between William and Beatrix, which is entirely outside of the Peter Rabbit books, but certainly is consistent with Beatrix's great love of nature and conservancy.
And, if you'd really like to read more about this side of the story, I recommend The Tale of Mrs. William Heelis written by William's nephew, John Heelis. You can look inside the book at Amazon UK.
If you'd enjoy some more Beatrix Potter rabbit trails, do read about Susan Branch's Peter Rabbit Room. And from there, we found this Beatrix Potter/Peter Rabbit site which is just delicious and fun! And do check out The World of Peter Rabbit. There is some more history there I think you'll find interesting. And then, Miss Potter by Carole D. Bos, hosted at Awesome Stories, (2006) offers fantastic and deep insight into many rabbit trails surrounding Miss Potter. (I linked one of the pages of this above in this post.)
Happy rabbit trailing with Miss Mason and Miss Potter!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 15 2011 at 11:51am | IP Logged
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Also, check out the charm, history and beauty of The Lake District.
Beatrix's home, Hilltop Farms is in Hawkshead, Ambleside.
CM's House of Education was taken over by the Cumbrian Educational Authority and in the 1990's it became the Lancaster University/University of Cumbria.
Here is a good map of CM's old campus which is now the University of Cumbria (I really hope this link works!)
Beatrix Potter's home, Hilltop Farms, was a few miles to the west of CM's college in Ambleside.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 15 2011 at 12:04pm | IP Logged
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And....I'm not even sure if I answered your question or gave you links you were looking for  or just followed my own little mini rabbit trail, Jenny! 
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Jen Mackintosh
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Grace&Chaos
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This is wonderful! I'm checking all these sites. I had run into The Beatrix Potter Society page and there is a tab for books about her in case any one else is interested.
One has caught my attention : has anyone read Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear. The title is inviting
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Jenny
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Yes, but it's been awhile. It's very good and does really flesh out Beatrix Potter as a person who was very much a devoted conservationist of her beloved Lake District as well as her great love of nature. I love the stories of her childhood!
From the chapter Satisfactions (p. 249):
Quote:
In the same way she had come to love Norman, Beatrix discovered the satisfaction and security that came from William's knowledge of the Lake District and its customs, and she relied on his advice about her properties in the same way as she had trusted Norman's expertise in publishing.
>snip<
Beatrix had loved Norman for his imagination and humor, and she similarly delighted in William's love of nature, his knowledge of the countryside and his zest for being out in it, whether he was fishing, shooting, golfing, bowling, boating or country dancing.
>snip<
He (William) respected Beatrix's literary success, but must have been more amazed by the watercolors she made of the places he knew and loved too. He knew nothing of the publishing business, or of children's literature, and it is likely that she did not talk (to William) about her books or her past. |
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Picture of John Heelis, William's father.
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Jen Mackintosh
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I'm dismayed. I just C-A-N-N-O-T confirm the relationship of Selina Heelis to William Heelis.  And I thought I had done this once, but I have looked and looked for her, to no avail.
Of this much I am pretty sure:
** She did exist!
** She was not William's sister.
** She was possibly an Aunt or a cousin of William.
** She and Charlotte Mason met and became friends when they attended Home and Colonial College in London, 1860
** She married John Fleming.
** She was a lifelong friend of Charlotte Mason's.
** She is responsible for introducing Charlotte Mason to the beauty of Ambleside and the Lake District. This influenced CM profoundly and is the reason CM settled in Ambleside.
From The Story of Charlotte Mason by Essex Cholmondely:
Quote:
| The earliest mention of Ambleside in Charlotte's letters comes in 1864, when for the first time she visited her college friend Selina Heelis. She had married Mr. John Fleming and was now living at Belle Vue. Miss Anne Clough, before becoming principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, had started a day school in Ambleside for boys and girls. It was at her own home, Eller How. Here she invited Miss Heelis to join her and later, in 1862, she appointed her as successor. When Miss Heelis married she carried on the work of the school in her new home, taking both boarders and day children. It was to Belle Vue that Charlotte came and here she first became familiar with the countryside she so deeply loved for the rest of her life. |
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: C. Mason and B. Potter
