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.
Ian Jopson says
I’ll be looking into this series with interest. I’m always keen to read stories involving real-life historical figures as investigators. Just one point, I’m sure others will tell you, Hill Top Farm (which you can visit) is in The Lake District and not the Cotswolds.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ian, thanks, I fixed that! English geography is not my strong suit.
Shannon Roe says
I loved these books!! and then I fell in love with Beatrice Potter!! I love the animals in the books, too.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Shannon, they’re really great characters!
Peg says
Danna, Make sure to see the movie ‘Miss Potter’…. Rene Zellwigger really brings Beatrix Potter’s life into enchanting reality
Susan Wittig Albert says
Thanks so much for this wonderful introduction to the Cottage Tales, Erin! One of your fans tipped me off to your post and I clicked over immediately.
You’ve identified the main things that are different about this series–thank you! The plots are really very *quiet*, which suits me these noisy, turbulent days. The books trace Miss Potter’s real life in those years. And the animals *do* know more than the Big People about what’s going on–they’re happy to share it with readers, too.
And that’s another thing I wanted to mention that’s different. There’s a narrator (rather like the nosy, narrator of Potter’s little books) who likes to comment on what’s happening–and what’s not happening and what *should* happen, just as the animals do. I’ll be posting about that narrator over on Substack next month (susanwittigalbert.substack.com).
Thanks also for posting our earlier interview. I don’t see a date, but it’s probably 15 or more years ago. Time flies!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, thank you so much for posting – and of course, for writing Cozies! I always appreciate hearing from authors. It’s definitely a very interesting take on mysteries – it’s really a very relaxing read with a lot of differences between it and your more traditional mysteries.
As for the interview, I checked… it was from March 2009, so dead on 15 years now. Surprisingly good guess!
Denise Woods says
Read and loved the Beatrix Potter series. I wish she has written more books in this series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Denise, so do I!
Cheryl says
I love Susan Wittig Albert’s Beatrix Potter series. In fact, I just reread them all a couple of months ago. The animal characters are such amusing combinations of human & animal behaviors, the human characters’ actions are quite believable for their era, and the plot engaging.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cheryl’, it’s a great series for sure! What a coincidence that we would both be rereading them at about the same time.
Roger says
Good morning from the UK. Always something interesting to read in reader’s comments about various authors.
Just a short note about the “home town” of Beatrix Potter. There are 2 places adjacent to each other called Near Sawrey and Far Sawrey and Hill Top farm is sort of between them and belongs to the UKs National Trust, which has preserved the premises much as it would have been left by Miss Potter and family. It is to be found in the English Lake District which is some 200 miles north of the Cotswolds on the western side of England and bordering on Scotland to the north. I have been many times to the Lake District over the years and I still find it a beautiful and captivating place.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Roger, thanks, I fixed that – English geography isn’t my strong point!