As lovely reviews go ...

   

    ... this one's hard to beat -

    "Beatrix wrote to Norman Warne just after Christmas with obvious pleasure, 'Did you ever happen to see a review of the Tailor in The Tailor and Cutter, the paper which the mouse on the bobbin is reading?' She had given a copy to her old Chelsea tailor, who in turn, had shown it to a traveller from the trade journal telling him how Beatrix had sketched his shop. The 'beautiful review', as Beatrix called it, appeared appropriately on Christmas Eve. It read:

    ... we think it is by far the prettiest story connected with tailoring we have ever read, and as it is full of that spirit of Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, we are not ashamed to confess that it brought the moisture to our eyes, as well as the smile to our face. It is got up in choicest style and illustrated by twenty-seven of the prettiest pictures it is possible to imagine."

    I so agree!

    That passage is from Beatrix Potter: The extraordinary life of a Victorian genius by Linda Lear.

Comments

[Miranda]

That's such a wonderful review! The Tailor of Gloucester is one of my very favourite Christmas reads, and I get it out every December. I have ordered Linda Lear's biography myself. Thank you so much for the recommendation!

[Cornflower]

I hope you'll enjoy it, Miranda - I'm finding it really fascinating, and the authenticity and attention to detail Beatrix brought to all her work (not least 'The Tailor ...') as described in the book is truly impressive.