The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan (originally, The Pie and the Patty-Pan) is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905. It tells of a cat called Ribby and a tea party she holds for a dog called Duchess. Complications arise when Duchess tries to replace Ribby's mouse pie with her own veal and ham pie, and then believes she has swallowed a small tin pastry form called a patty-pan. Its themes are etiquette and social relations in a small town.
A version of the tale was composed by Potter in 1903, but set aside to develop other projects. In 1904, she failed to complete a book of nursery rhymes for Warnes, and the 1903 tale was accepted in its stead. Potter elaborated its setting and storyline, and developed the tale more fully before publication. The illustrations depict the cottages and gardens of Sawrey, a village in the Lake District near Potter's Hill Top farm, and have been described as some of the most exquisite Potter ever produced. Ribby was modelled on a cat living in Sawrey, Duchess on two Pomeranians belonging to Potter's neighbour Mrs Rogerson, Tabitha Twitchit on Potter's cat at Hill Top, and Dr Maggoty on the magpies in the London Zoological Gardens.
The tale was originally published in a larger size than Potter's previous books, but was reduced in the 1930s to bring it into line with the other books in the Peter Rabbit series. It was given its present title at that time. Potter declared the tale her next favourite to The Tailor of Gloucester. Beswick Pottery released porcelain figurines of the tale's characters through the latter half of the 20th century, and Schmid & Co. released a music box in the 1980s.
Development and publication
The stolid-looking house at Hill Top, the grazing cows, and the cat "impart a sense of settled respectability" in the frontispiece.
The Potter family summered occasionally at Lakefield, a country house in the village of Sawrey. "They came with their servants, their carriage and pair, and Miss Potter with her pony and phaeton," a village resident recalled. "Miss Potter was about the village sketching everywhere and often came to our house."[2]
Close to Lakefield and off the road in their own enclosure were three dwellings known as Lakefield Cottages. Mr. Rogerson, a gardener and caretaker at Lakefield, lived in one of the cottages,[2] and eventually his wife's two pedigree Pomeranians– Darkie and Duchess– would become the models for Potter's fictional Duchess. Darkie had a fine black mane, but Duchess was more intelligent and could sit up with a lump of sugar balanced on her nose.[3]
In the summer of 1902, Potter sketched the interior of the third Lakefield Cottage belonging to a Mrs. Lord. These drawings included a watercolour and pen-and-ink sketches of the living-room, pen-and-ink sketches of the pots of geraniums on the living-room window sill, the entrance passage, the pantry, the stairs, some of the upstairs rooms, and details of the carved oak furniture. In some of the sketches Potter roughly outlined a cat. She also sketched the village including the sloping path down to the Lakefield Cottages and the post office door. These became the backgrounds for The Pie and The Patty-Pan.[2]
During a rainy holiday in Hastings at the end of November 1903, Potter outlined a tale about a cat, a dog, and a tea party she called Something very very NICE. She discussed the Lakefield sketches as backgrounds for the tale with Warne. He proposed a large format volume similar to L. Leslie Brooke's Johnny Crow's Garden to do justice to the detail of the illustrations, but the entire project was set aside when The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and The Tale of Two Bad Mice were chosen for development and publication in 1904.[4]
Potter had long wanted to develop a book of nursery rhymes, but such a project left Warne cold. Rhymes were already well represented in the firm's catalogue, and Warne felt Potter's unbridled enthusiasm for the genre would make the project a headache for him. In the past, he had tried to discourage Potter's interest in rhymes, believing her own stories superior, but she persisted. He reluctantly agreed to a book of rhymes for 1905, but Potter did not have it ready at the end of 1904, so he accepted the tea party tale instead.[5] Early in 1905, it was decided the book would be published at the end of the year.[2]
Cupboard Love by Briton Riviere depicts Potter's cousin Kate. The work was parodied by Potter in the illustration of Duchess searching Ribby's cupboard for the mouse pie.
By March 1905, Potter was anxious to begin work on the tale. She thought the 1903 version too thin and rewrote the entire story, retaining Ribby the cat and Duchess the dog as the central characters while elaborating the setting and developing a stronger plot line.[7] It was decided the tale would be published in a format slightly larger than her previous productions with ten full-colour illustrations and other illustrations in pen and sepia ink.[8]
Like the tale's companion piece set in the Newlands Valley, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the cat and dog story is set in a real place, Near Sawrey, and is the only Potter tale to refer to Sawrey by name. Tabitha Twitchit disdainfully comments on her cousin's choice of party guest: "A little dog, indeed! Just as if there were no CATS in Sawrey!"[9] The characters in the tale were modelled on real world individuals. Ribby's counterpart lived in Sawrey,[10] and Tabitha Twitchit's counterpart lived at Hill Top, though her fictional shop is located in nearby Hawkshead.[10] Dr. Maggotty was drawn from magpies in the London Zoological Gardens. Potter made notes in her sketchbook about the bird's anatomical structure and the colour of its feathers: "Brown black eye, nose a little hookier than jackdaw, less feathered." The bird's tail was over half its total length she noted, and its feathers were "very blue" and parts were green.[8]
Duchess searches for the mouse pie
The illustrations depict the village's gardens, cottages, and, in the background of the frontispiece, Hill Top.[3][11] Although the real Duchess lived at Lakefield Cottages, in the tale her home became Buckle Yeat, a picturesque cottage in the village, and Duchess is shown in its garden reading Ribby's invitation. In the illustration of Duchess leaving home with her veal and ham pie in a basket, Potter took some artistic licence and combined the doorway of the village post office with the Buckle Yeat garden.[3] Completely faithful to life in the village, Potter even included the pattens Mrs. Rogerson wore to the pump in the illustration depicting Duchess standing in the Lakefield Cottage porch holding a bouquet.[3] The illustration of Duchess standing on a red sofa cushion was painted at Melford Hall and Potter's young cousin Stephanie Hyde Parker was permitted to put some red paint on the cushion. She later wondered if Potter removed it.[12]
Towards the end of May 1905, Potter sent the illustrations to Warne for his review, writing, "I think it promises to make a pretty book."[12] He criticised a picture of the cat and Potter wrote him, "If you still feel doubtful about the little cat—will you post it back to me at once ... I don't feel perfectly satisfied with the eyes of the large head, but I think I can get it right, by taking out the lights carefully, if you will ask Hentschel not to do it before we have proofs. The drawing is getting much too rubbed."[12]
On 25 May, Warne asked Potter to send him one of the two dummy books she had in her possession in order to check the size of the plates before continuing with the printer's blocks. He thought there was "too much bend" about the dog's nose and the division between its legs was unclear. He kept the two plates back for Potter's inspection before sending them off to make the blocks.[12] On 26 May, he received two more originals and the circular portrait of the cat for the cover. He thought the background of the colour illustration of Ribby and Duchess sitting at the table too light, but liked the pen-and-ink sketches. Potter struggled with the dog illustrations,[7] and sent Warne a photograph of her canine model to prove the dog's ruff was as large as she had depicted it.[3]
Main street of Sawrey photographed by Potter's father in May 1913
Potter's own three-door oven, her hearthrug, her indoor plants, her coronation teapot, and her water pump are minutely detailed with more color than in other productions. The large format of the original edition, the captions accompanying the full page color illustrations, and the occasional lack of coordination between picture and text all display Potter's delight in the pictures, sometimes at the expense of the text.[13]
One of the illustrations did not coordinate properly with Potter's text. She altered the drawing and wrote Warne, "I have altered the oven as it will save a good many corrections. I did a good deal to the cat but she is still looking at the top one. I don't think it signifies as she talks about both ovens ... I don't think I have ever seriously considered the state of the pie but the book runs some risk of being over cooked if it goes on much longer! I am sorry about the little dog's nose. I saw it was too sharp. I think I have got it right. I was intending to explain the ovens by saying the middle handle is very stiff so that Duchess concludes it is a sham;–like the lowest. I think only two pages want changing; I think it will come right."[14]
The drawings were finished and in early June 1905 Warne approved. Potter wrote she was glad he liked the drawings, and "if the book prints well, it will be my next favourite to Tailor. She was energized with the completion of the book and wrote Warne she wanted to settle on future work before leaving for a holiday in Wales. In Merioneth she received his letter of proposal on 25 July and accepted, but he died suddenly and unexpectedly on 25 August 1905 before a marriage took place.[7][14] Potter became deeply depressed and was ill for many weeks.[15] However, she rallied to complete the last two tales she had discussed with him: The Pie and the Patty-Pan and The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.[16]
The Pie and the Patty-Pan was published in October 1905 in a large format, priced at one shilling,[17] and dedicated to Joan, the sixth child of Potter's former governess Annie Carter Moore, and to Beatrix, Mrs. Moore's newborn and Potter's god-daughter: "For Joan, to read to Baby".[18]The Pie was the first of Potter's books to be published in a format larger (177mm by 138mm) than the standard size (139mm by 104mm) of the Peter Rabbit books; and the first of her books to integrate pen-and-ink and colour illustrations between its boards.[19]
The book's endpapers had been overlooked. Potter wrote to the firm: "I conclude there is no time to get an end-paper design done—unless Mr. Stokoe has already designed one—I do not mind one way or another; I had begun to scribble something but it looks a bit stiff." Mr. Stokoe apparently did not design one because the endpapers were either plain white or mottled lavender. Several years later, they were replaced with a design featuring a pie and a patty-pan and the cover illustration changed to Ribby sitting by the fire. In the 1930s, the book's size was reduced to bring it into line with the rest of the Peter Rabbit books. The title was changed at that time to The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan.[10][20]
Potter declared the tale her next favourite to The Tailor of Gloucester. The pictures are some of the most beautiful Potter ever created, especially the profusions of flowers in the doorways and garden plots. The colours in the illustrations are not the muted browns and greens the reader expects in a Potter illustration, nor are they the contrasting colours such as the muted reds and blues Potter uses occasionally to give her illustrations a splash of colour. Instead, the colours are bright oranges, violets, and yellows seldom seen in her other books. Even Ribby's lilac dress and Duchess's black mane illustrate Potter's concern for colour in this book.[13]
Plot
"Once upon a time", Ribby, a "Pussy-cat" invites her friend, a dog called Duchess to tea with plans to serve her "something so very very nice" baked in a pie dish with a Pink rim. Ribby promises Duchess she shall have the entrée entirely to herself, and Ribby will eat Muffins. Duchess accepts the invitation fondly but hopes she will not be served Mouse Pie. Duchess is disgusted by Mouse as a meal, and considers writing to Ribby to tell her this, however cannot bring herself to do it.
Duchess had been planning on inviting Ribby to tea, hoping to serve Ribby a Veal and Ham pie, also baked in a pie dish with a Pink rim (both pie dishes were bought at the shop of Tabitha Twitchet’s, Ribby’s cousin). Duchess reads the invitation again and realizes she will have the opportunity to switch the pies when Ribby leaves to buy Tea, sugar, and Marmalade. Duchess’s pie just needs to be cooked and it will be ready. Ribby has two ovens, one above the other, and she puts her mouse pie in the lower oven, fearing that the higher oven will overcook the pie. She tidies the house, sets the table, and leaves to buy Tea, Marmalade and Sugar. Duchess meantime has left home with her ham and veal pie in a basket, passes Ribby on the street, and hurries on to Ribby's house. She puts her pie into the higher oven, and searches quickly for the mouse pie (which she does not find because she neglects to look in the lower oven). Meanwhile, Ribby is buying her Groceries at her Cousin, Tabitha Twitchet’s, shop. After a pleasant gossip with her Cousin, Ribby informs Tabitha about her upcoming tea with Duchess. As Ribby leaves, Tabitha mutters under her breath about how she disapproves of Duchess the Dog. When Ribby returns home, Duchess sneaks out the back door. At the appointed hour, Duchess appears at Ribby's door and the tea begins. Distracted for a moment, Duchess does not see which oven Ribby opens to remove the pie. Duchess eats greedily, believing she is eating her ham and veal pie. She wonders what has happened to the patty-pan she put in her pie, and, not finding it under the crust, is convinced she has swallowed it. She sets up a howl; Ribby is perplexed and annoyed, however when Duchess is convinced she is dying. Ribby agrees to go and find Dr. Maggoty, a Magpie Doctor.
Duchess is left alone, sitting by the fireplace, and discovers her Veal and Ham Pie (overcooked) in the oven. Duchess realises she ate Mouse Pie. Knowing she cannot adequately explain her Veal and Ham Pie to Ribby, she puts it outside the back door intending to sneak back and carry it home after she leaves. Ribby and Dr. Maggoty arrive and, after much fuss, Duchess takes her leave, only to find that the magpie (who has left by the back door) and a couple of jackdaws have eaten her Veal and Ham Pie when she returns to collect it. Ribby later finds the remains of the smashed pie dish and the patty-pan outside the back door and declares, "Well I never did! ... Next time I want to give a party – I will invite Cousin Tabitha Twitchit!"
Scholarly commentaries
M. Daphne Kutzer, Professor of English at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh at the time of her Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code (2003) believes The Pie and its two immediate predecessors (the tales of Two Bad Mice and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle) are transitional works in Potter's life and literary career. All three books confront the meaning of domesticity, work, and social hierarchies while exhibiting an underlying discomfort with the unyielding strictures of Victorian domesticity, and a disengagement from the broad political and social concerns of her earlier books to the more narrow political and social concerns of working farmers and rural people.[21]
Ruth K. MacDonald of New Mexico State University at the time of her Beatrix Potter (1986) argues that the theme of The Pie is the very proper social relations between neighbours in a small town. She points to the overly formal quality of the letters exchanged between the heroines as one example of the theme, and another, she indicates, is the manner in which the two pass each other on the street without a word to one another because "they were going to have a party". Though Duchess probably does not speak to Ribby for fear of revealing her plan to switch the two pies, Ribby probably does not speak to Duchess out of an exaggerated sense of politeness or because she is rushed. At the hour of the party, Duchess is anxious to arrive on time, yet not too early, and loiters outside Ribby's cottage before delivering her most "genteel little tap-tappity" and asking "Is Mrs. Ribston at home?" MacDonald notes that these instances not only underscore the elaborate codes of behaviour Potter's fictional animals observe but, by extension, the villagers of Sawrey. For Potter, the result of such elaborate etiquette was nonsensical, distorted behaviour. Nevertheless, the cat and dog remain friends at the end of the story, and, in carefully avoiding any offence, their social pretenses and codes of etiquette are maintained.[22]
Merchandise
Potter asserted her tales would one day be nursery classics, and part of the process in making them so was marketing strategy.[23] She was the first to exploit the commercial possibilities of her characters and tales with spinoffs such as a Peter Rabbit doll, an unpublished Peter Rabbit board game, and a Peter Rabbit nursery wallpaper between 1903 and 1905.[24] Similar "side-shows" (as she termed the spinoffs) were conducted over the following two decades.[25]
In 1947, Frederick Warne & Co. gave Beswick Pottery of Longton, Staffordshire rights and licences to produce the Potter characters in porcelain. Ribby coming from the farm with butter and milk was released as a figurine in 1951; Duchess with a bouquet of flowers in 1955; Duchess holding the ham and veal pie in 1979; and Ribby and the broken pie dish in 1992. A limited edition tableau depicting Duchess and Ribby was produced only in 2000.[26]
Schmid & Co. of Toronto and Randolph, Massachusetts was granted licensing rights to Beatrix Potter in 1977. A music box playing "Music Box Dancer" and topped with a porcelain figure of Duchess holding a bouquet was released in 1980.[27]
Reprints and translations
As of 2010, all of Potter's 23 small format books remain in print, and available as complete sets in presentation boxes,[28] and as a 400-page omnibus.[29] First edition copies and early reprints of The Pie are offered by antiquarian booksellers.[30]The Pie was available as a hardcover volume but also in paperback, audiobook, and electronic formats.[31]
The English language editions of the books still bore the Frederick Warne imprint in 2010 though the company was bought by Penguin Books in 1983. The printing plates for the Potter books were remade from new photographs of the original drawings in 1985, and all 23 volumes released in 1987 as The Original and Authorized Edition.[32]
Potter's books have been translated into nearly thirty languages including Greek and Russian.[32] In 1986, MacDonald observed that the Potter books had become a traditional part of childhood in both English-speaking lands and those in which the books had been translated.[33]
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which was her first published work in 1902. Her books, including 23 Tales, have sold more than 250 million copies. An entrepreneur, Potter was a pioneer of character merchandising. In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy, making him the oldest licensed character.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he gets into, and is chased around, the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother, who puts him to bed after offering him chamomile tea. The tale was written for five-year-old Noel Moore, the son of Potter's former governess, Annie Carter Moore, in 1893. It was revised and privately printed by Potter in 1901 after several publishers' rejections, but was printed in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902. The book was a success, and multiple reprints were issued in the years immediately following its debut. It has been translated into 36 languages, and with 45 million copies sold it is one of the best-selling books in history.
Hill Top is a 17th-century house in Near Sawrey near Hawkshead, in the English county of Cumbria. It is an example of Lakeland vernacular architecture with random stone walls and slate roof. The house was once the home of children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter who left it to the National Trust. It is a Grade II* listed building. It is open to the public as a writer's house museum, shown as Beatrix Potter herself would have known it.
The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1908 as The Roly-Poly Pudding. In 1926, it was re-published as The Tale of Samuel Whiskers. The book is dedicated to the author's fancy rat "Sammy" and tells of Tom Kitten's escape from two rats who plan to make him into a pudding. The tale was adapted to animation in 1993.
The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in July 1909. After two full-length tales about rabbits, Potter had grown weary of the subject and was reluctant to write another. She realized however that children most enjoyed her rabbit stories and pictures, and so reached back to characters and plot elements from The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904) to create The Flopsy Bunnies. A semi-formal garden of archways and flowerbeds in Wales at the home of her uncle and aunt became the background for the illustrations.
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in July 1906. Jeremy's origin lies in a letter she wrote to a child in 1893. She revised it in 1906, and moved its setting from the River Tay to the English Lake District. The tale reflects her love for the Lake District and her admiration for children's illustrator Randolph Caldecott.
The Tale of Ginger and Pickles is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1909. The book tells of two shopkeepers who extend unlimited credit to their customers and, as a result, are forced to go out of business. It was originally published in a large format which permitted very detailed illustrations and also allowed Potter to include black-and-white vignettes. Potter filled the tale with characters from her previous books. The book was eventually republished in the standard small format of the Peter Rabbit series and was adapted to drama in 1931.
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle is a hedgehog washerwoman (laundress) who lives in a tiny cottage in the fells of the Lake District. A human child named Lucie happens upon the cottage and stays for tea. The two deliver freshly laundered clothing to the animals and birds in the neighbourhood. Potter thought the book would be best enjoyed by girls, and, like most girls' books of the period, it is set indoors with a focus on housework.
The Tailor of Gloucester is a Christmas children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1903. The story is about a tailor whose work on a waistcoat is finished by the grateful mice he rescues from his cat and was based on a real world incident involving a tailor and his assistants. For years, Potter declared that of all her books it was her personal favourite.
The Tale of Tom Kitten is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was released by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1907. The tale is about manners and how children react to them. Tabitha Twitchit, a cat, invites friends for tea. She washes and dresses her three kittens for the party, but within moments the kittens have soiled and lost their clothes while scampering about the garden. Tabitha is "affronted". She sends the kittens to bed, and tells her friends the kittens have the measles. Once the tea party is underway however, its "dignity and repose" are disturbed by the kittens romping overhead and leaving a bedroom in disorder.
Near Sawrey and Far Sawrey are two neighbouring villages in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. They are located in the Lake District between the village of Hawkshead and the lake of Windermere. The two lie on the B5285, which runs from Hawkshead to the west bank of the Windermere Ferry, a car ferry across Windermere 1 mile to the east of the villages.
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends is a British animated anthology television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. 14 of Potter's stories were adapted into 9 films, and the series was originally shown in the U.K. on the BBC between 20 December 1992 and 25 December 1998. It was subsequently broadcast in the U.S. on Family Channel between 23 October 1992 and 23 October 1995. For the initial VHS releases, some of the characters' voices were dubbed-over by actors with more American-like accents.
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1904. The book is a sequel to The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902), and tells of Peter's return to Mr. McGregor's garden with his cousin Benjamin to retrieve the clothes he lost there during his previous adventure. In Benjamin Bunny, Potter deepened the rabbit universe she created in Peter Rabbit, and, in doing so, suggested the rabbit world was parallel to the human world but complete and sufficient unto itself.
The Tale of Two Bad Mice is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1904. Potter took inspiration for the tale from two mice caught in a cage-trap in her cousin's home and a doll's house being constructed by her editor and publisher Norman Warne as a Christmas gift for his niece Winifred. While the tale was being developed, Potter and Warne fell in love and became engaged, much to the annoyance of Potter's parents, who were grooming their daughter to be a permanent resident and housekeeper in their London home.
The Story of Miss Moppet is a tale about teasing, featuring a kitten and a mouse, that was written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co for the 1906 Christmas season. Potter was born in London in 1866, and between 1902 and 1905 published a series of small-format children's books with Warne. In 1906, she experimented with an atypical panorama design for Miss Moppet, which booksellers disliked; the story was reprinted in 1916 in small book format.
The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1911. Timmy Tiptoes is a squirrel believed to be a nut-thief by his fellows, and imprisoned by them in a hollow tree with the expectation that he will confess under confinement. Timmy is tended by Chippy Hackee, a friendly, mischievous chipmunk who has run away from his wife and is camping-out in the tree. Chippy urges the prisoner to eat the nuts stored in the tree, and Timmy does so but grows so fat he cannot escape the tree. He regains his freedom when a storm topples part of the tree. The tale contrasts the harmonious marriage of its title character with the less than harmonious marriage of the chipmunk.
The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit is a children’s book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in December 1906. The book tells of a bad little rabbit who forcefully takes another rabbit's carrot, but soon loses his tail and whiskers after being fired upon by a hunter. The book was intended for babies and very young children, and was originally published on a strip of paper that folded into a wallet and was tied with a ribbon. The format was unpopular with booksellers, and eventually reprinted in the standard small book format of the Peter Rabbit library. Although the book sold well, there are not many left in existence. It provides the young child with an introduction to books and the Peter Rabbit universe.
The Tale of Pigling Bland is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1913. The story describes the adventures of the pig of the title and how his life changes upon meeting a soulmate, in much the same way that Potter's life was changing at the time the book was published.
Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher founded in 1865. It is known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books.
Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit is a fictional anthropomorphic cat who features in the books of Beatrix Potter. She is a shopkeeper and the long-suffering mother of three unruly kittens, Moppet, Mittens and Tom Kitten.
References
DuBay, Debbie; Sewall, Kara (2006). Beatrix Potter Collectibles: The Peter Rabbit Story Characters. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN0-7643-2358-X.
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