The Tale of Mr. Tod - Background

Background

Following her acquisition of Hill Top Farm in 1905 in Lancashire (now Cumbria), Potter began her most creative and productive years as a children's author and illustrator. By the end of the decade however, she had grown weary of writing for children. Her eyesight was failing, and the demands of operating her farm and caring for her aging parents limited the amount of time and attention she could allocate to the production of books. In 1912 however, she brought Peter Rabbit and his kin together for one last time in The Tale of Mr. Tod. She thought her editors too cautious and too concerned about offending the public, and knew she was capable of creating more complex characters and plots. In Mr. Tod she offered her fans two villainous characters – Mr. Tod and Tommy Brock, a fox and a badger. The Tale of Mr. Tod and the book to follow in 1913, The Tale of Pigling Bland, were her last completely original works. Her marriage to William Heelis in October 1913 effectively put an end to her career as a children's author and illustrator, but she continued to produce sporadically over the following years at the demand of fans and publisher, though relying upon decades-old ideas and sketches rather than new concepts and illustrations.