I was disappointed by the writing style of the author and just couldn't engage with this book. Such a shame - I was very interested in learning more about Beatrix Potter, but it won't be via this book.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

A pretty thorough look into Beatrix Potter's life. I did not care for the way the writer did not stick to showing events in chronological order-rather he was all over the place. I also think at times he overthinks her writing, if that makes sense. I did appreciate the details and work the author did in putting together this book.

I selected this text early on in my NetGalley membership, and I could not get into this text. I was so excited to enjoy it but I simply couldn't get past the first chapter. I would still recommend it to those interested in this author and topic, but I personally won't likely revisit it.

A wonderfully compelling beautifully designed complete guide to the life of Beatrix Potter. Here are the answers all her fans are looking for. The author describes her early life in Victorian England, her independence and her life as a writer and independent women. Its complexity in its entirety with details of her life and works . The authors writing style is pleasing to the reader and the research is appreciated by fans. I loved this book it is a true true treasure to all her fans. Thank you for this wonderful book to review .
The ARC did not influence my review.

Beatrix Potter fans, who admire her books, or perhaps saw the 2006 film Miss Potter, and have never delved into her life story (and how that affected the books), will learn more about this remarkable woman through this concise and well documented biography by Matthew Dennison. Potter was a remarkable woman. I loved her books as a child, and when my first child was born decorated her nursery with a Beatrix Potter motif. She and her brother enjoyed Potter's "little books" and are now grown and parents of their own toddlers with whom they will share the books. The books seem to have a timeless quality about them. When one reads in the biography how much time she took as an artist to perfect every detail, and what inspired her to write the words, it is easy to understand why they have stood the test of time. Although she never married until the age of 47, and had no biological children: "With satisfaction, she could claim of Peter Rabbit at the end of her life, ‘his moderate price has at least enabled him to reach many hundreds of thousands of children, and has given them pleasure without ugliness’. Since first publication in 1902, Peter’s story has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide; a recent estimate suggested that, somewhere in the world, one of Beatrix’s ‘little books’ is purchased every fifteen seconds. The appeal of Potter’s stories is perennial and the circle of ‘little friends of Mr McGregor & Peter & Benjamin’ continually replenished." What I never realized was the legacy that she left to the National Trust in England, and what a conservationist she was in donating her time and money to preserving large portions of the beautiful Lake District in their natural state for future generations. A quote from the biography states: "Her bequest to the National Trust at her death of more than 4,000 acres, including fifteen farms and an endowment of £5,000, is among the most significant Lake District donations in the Trust’s history." Some photos and illustrations are included. I recommend this volume to Beatrix Potter fans who would like to learn more about her, and how her life is reflected in her books, and appreciate Pegasus Books and NetGalley sharing an ARC of this book with me prior to its publication.

This was a bit hard to get into - lots of facts and some interesting tidbits, but the narrative bogged down and wasn't the easiest thing to read. Still - there's some interesting information for fans of Beatrice Potter.

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn't. It felt so dry and read more like a school report on Beatrix Potter than anything. I learned about her life, which was interesting, but it was a long, dry read.

3.5-4 stars

I find myself struggling a bit with my review of this slender biography of Beatrix Potter. This book was obviously a labor of love for Dennison. He clearly holds Beatrix Potter in the highest regard and tries to give us a sense of her rather remarkable life, from the almost shocking seclusion in which she grew up and lived in well into adulthood, due to her reclusive parents, to her scientific and artistic gifts, her heartbreak over the death of her fiance, when she was 39 years old, her quietly joyous subsequent marriage a decade later to a friend and companion with shared interests, to her foresight into protection of the Lake District by granting her properties to the National Trust upon her death in 1943. Dennison shares all this in the context of her seminal works, from Peter Rabbit to The Fairy Carnival. The way the book is constructed, however, built around some of these children's tales, and sometimes jumping back and forth in time, from what she thought or believed at fifteen years of age to her ruminations at fifty-five, is sometimes jarring. While I'm not one bothered by some non-linearity, I believe this book would have benefited from a stronger hand in the editing. It reads like a much loved crazy quilt, covering its topic in a warm but somewhat chaotic fashion. I also went back and reread a number of the children's stories in order to try to embrace the linkages that Dennison wanted us to perceive. Many were merely pleasant memories for me and I needed the refreshing to understand, for instance, just why A Fierce Bad Rabbit might have been disfavored by Warne & Co., her publishers.

The photos, though not great in number, punctuate each of Dennison's nine chapters, capturing Beatrix's transition through life, were well-chosen. The color illustrations, provided at the end of the galley proof, were absolutely lovely. Beatrix's love of animals, of nature as a whole, and her ability to make a world out of the terrible isolation (no friends, no school, harsh nannies) in which she was raised and lived well into adulthood and literary success, is evident in these drawings. I particularly enjoyed the watercolor of the fungi, one of her fascinations back in the 1890's. (Readers may be surprised to know that the same Beatrix Potter that gave us Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck was a well-regarded mycologist and botanist in the Victorian era. It should be noted, however, that some of her ideas have been debunked by more recent science.) Potter was clearly a remarkable woman and some of that is captured in Dennison's hands. I just wish more had been. Her stoicism in later life about her vision problems and other health concerns is painfully apparent in the book's final chapters.

Fans of Beatrix Potter and her adorable Peter Cottontail stories will love this book! It describes what happens in the stories that she wrote and illustrated. The book chronicles Potter's life, and tells of how she came to create the beloved tales.

Over the Hills and Far Away by Matthew Dennison offers a glimpse into the life of Beatrix Potter, the beloved author and illustrator whose life was circumscribed by Victorian traditions and parents who kept her isolated from other children, whose inquiries into the natural world are worthy of any scientist, whose illustrated letters to children helped inspire the "little books" that are still beloved by millions, who was an astute businesswoman, and who bequeathed over 4,000 acres to the National Trust in an effort to preserve the English countryside.

Potter was shy and under the thumb of her domineering parents, yet she defied her parents to fulfill her dream of becoming an artist.

Much of the book was fascinating, but I found the shifts in chronology unsettling at times--since my version was a NetGalley manuscript, perhaps further editing has taken place. Or maybe I should have adjusted better. I also found the too frequent connections Dennison makes about her characters (those anthropomorphic and charming rabbits, mice, and ducks) to Potter's life overdone.

Nevertheless, Over the Hills reveals a great deal about Potter and her life, and I'm very happy to have learned about her family pets (lizards, birds, rabbits, hedgehogs, newts), her naturalist efforts, and her stubborn efforts to pursue her art.

I would like to read another biography of Potter for comparison and because I'm still fascinated by the journey she made throughout her life.

Read in Jan.; blog post scheduled for March 22

NetGalley/Pegasus Books

Biography. April 4, 2017. Print length: 304 pages.

This was a very comprehensive biography. I like how it wasn't a conventional biography. This biography was very intimate, and I learned a lot more about her than I ever did before.

A must read. As a Holocaust researcher, I really enjoyed this book. It was a different take on things. Well written.