This edition of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck comes wrapped in a special bespoke cover created by the iconic British fashion designer Henry Holland of House of Holland. His introduction explains that he sees Jemima as the kind of duck who believes that ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’, an attitude summed up in the trademark slogan emblazoned on the cover over duck-egg blue polka-dots that cleverly pick up the shade of Jemima’s bonnet. Eye-catching and bold it’s a fresh and idiosyncratic way to mark the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter. ~ Andrea Reece
In celebration of Beatrix Potter’s 150th anniversary, Penguin Random House have commissioned five of Britain and Ireland’s most exciting fashion designers to reimagine the cover designs of Potter’s best-loved tales. Visually stunning and completely unexpected, we hope you enjoy seeing Potter’s characters through this new lens. – Jo Hanks, Publisher
Beatrix Potter had an eye for fashion as well as the natural world, clothing her characters in à la mode jackets, hats, shawls and dresses with Peter Rabbit being inseparable from his iconic blue jacket. It has been a privilege working with modern British and Irish fashion designers, each creating surprising and wonderful designs inspired by Beatrix Potter’s classic tales adding their own distinctive style into the mix. – Adam Wardle, Designer
Poor Jemima. All she wants to do is lay her eggs in peace, and be allowed to hatch them herself. At last she flies off and finds the perfect place. Little does the silly duck realise that the charming gentleman who has lent her his woodshed is busily planning a delicious meal of ...roast duck! Jemima was a real duck belonging to Beatrix Potter, who lived at her farm, Hill Top. The story also features Beatrix's own sheepdog, Kep, who thankfully manages to save Jemima from a nasty fate!
This edition is part of a collection of five books designed by iconic British and Irish fashion designers to celebration the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter.
The cover of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck was designed by Henry Holland (House of Holland) - a British fashion designer and businessman. Holland gained attention with his bold, 1980s-inspired T-shirts, and subsequently shot to fame after founding his own fashion house.
Beatrix Potter was born in London in 1866. During her rather lonely childhood and later, as a young woman, she studied art and natural history. She acquired her love and knowledge of the countryside during family holidays, at first in Scotland and then in the Lake District. She started her career as children's author and illustrator in 1901 when she was thirty-five. In the years before the First World War, demand for her work was so great that she was publishing an average of two new stories a year. As she became financially independent, she was able to buy some land in the Lake District and in 1913, on her marriage to solicitor William Heelis, she moved to live there permanently. For the last thirty years of her life, writing and illustrating gave place to a second career as a sheep farmer and countryside conservationist.
Her little books never lost their popularity however and today they sell in their millions, translated into numerous languages, and the pleasures of those timeless tales continue to be enjoyed by children all over the world.
