Not for the first time, I am going to feature a series and book by Susan Wittig Albert. Only last April I discussed Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles Mystery Series as part of my continuing series where I talk about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery Series. This time I have read (or rather, re-read) the first book in her Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Series, The Tale of Hill Top Farm.
The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Series is quite a different cozy mystery series. First, the mysteries presented tend to be much more gentle than even the coziest of murder mysteries. In The Tale of Hill Top Farm, for example, there are several mysteries, including perhaps a murder, (as usual, no spoilers here!) but the main character, a fictionalized Beatrix Potter, can hardly be called a sleuth. Her main preoccupation is getting to know the people of Sawrey, the small town where she is going to live in her recently acquired farm.
Second, the main character is a real historical person — Beatrix Potter is none other, of course, than the best selling author of the Peter Rabbit stories first published early in the 20th century. She really did buy a farm in the small Lake District area of England. And, she really did have a diverse set of animals as pets, just as Beatrix does in the book.
The third thing that makes these stories different is that the animals talk to each other. In fact, the animals are probably more the main sleuths in the books than is Beatrix herself.
Anyway, in The Tale of Hill Top Farm, the story begins with Beatrix arriving to Sawrey for the first time after she has purchased Hill Top Farm. Using the money she has been making from selling the Peter Rabbit stories, Beatrix has bought the farm in order to try to begin to establish her independence from her rather domineering parents. Against their wishes, she is planning to move, one day, to Sawrey and be a kind of gentlewoman farmer.
Beatrix had visited the Lake District several times with her parents and had gotten to know Sawrey and the Hill Top Farm area quite well. She had literally fallen in love with the charming village and the farm itself.
Susan Wittig Albert paints an enchanting picture of the ideal cozy settings of the village of Sawrey which is set by the side of the largest lake in England. It is no wonder that Beatrix Potter bought a farm there and set up Hill Top Farm to be her home when she was looking for somewhere to be away from her parents. And, her animals, and the animals of Sawrey provide some gentle humor that is quite in line with the cozy setting.
If you are looking for a cozy book series that is very different from the typical murder mysteries that you will usually find by reading my blog and the Cozy Mystery site, The Tale of Hill Top Farm would be as great place to start!
If you’d like to see other entries about some of the most recommended Cozy Mystery authors, be sure to check out the Most Popular and Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
P.S. Many years ago now, Susan Wittig Albert kindly consented to be interviewed by me. Click here to read the interview.
