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Miss Potter (2006) Full Movie | Biographical Drama
The Tale of Beatrix Potter A Story of Love and Success
Beatrix Potter's Journey to Literary Fame
Miss Potter (2006) is a biographical drama film directed by Chris Noonan, starring Renée Zellweger as Beatrix Potter, the renowned author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
The film follows Beatrix Potter, a talented but repressed young woman in Victorian England, who finds success with her children's books despite her overbearing mother. She falls in love with her publisher, Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor), but their engagement is met with disapproval from her parents due to Norman's lower social status. After Norman's tragic death, Beatrix finds solace in her writing and purchases a farm in the Lake District, where she eventually marries William Heelis.

Cast: Renée Zellweger as Beatrix Potter
Ewan McGregor as Norman Warne
Emily Watson as Millie Warne
Barbara Flynn as Helen Potter
Bill Paterson as Rupert Potter
Lloyd Owen as William Heelis

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Transcript
00:00:00Transcription by CastingWords
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00:02:59Looking back, the city and I never much liked each other.
00:03:08An unmarried woman, after all, was expected to behave in very particular ways,
00:03:13which did not include traipsing from publisher to publisher with a gaggle of friends.
00:03:22Now, listen to me.
00:03:24You must not be afraid.
00:03:27And don't talk too much.
00:03:29Friends who, sadly, others were not so keen to meet.
00:03:45I've been selling my drawings for greeting cards, place cards, etc., for seven years.
00:03:51Bunnies in jackets with brass buttons.
00:04:19However, do you imagine such things?
00:04:21I don't imagine them.
00:04:22They're quite real.
00:04:23They're my friends.
00:04:25Are you based the animal characters on your friends?
00:04:27No.
00:04:28The animals are my friends.
00:04:31Before Peter Rabbit, there was Benjamin Bunny, and then Sir Isaac the Newt.
00:04:34I have their drawings as well, if you'd like to see them.
00:04:37That won't be necessary.
00:04:38Unfortunately, Miss Potter...
00:04:39It is Miss Potter, is it not?
00:04:41Yes, of course.
00:04:43Silly of me.
00:04:44Unfortunately, the market for children's books...
00:04:45Yes, of course.
00:04:46I completely understand.
00:04:47It was silly of me.
00:04:49No experience.
00:04:50F. Warne and company would like to publish your little book, Miss Potter.
00:04:54But best not to get overly hopeful.
00:04:56I know publishing your book will not sell a great number of copies, but I think we can
00:05:00turn a small profit.
00:05:03My dear Mr. Warne.
00:05:05Well, I'm pleased.
00:05:07Very pleased, indeed.
00:05:08I should do everything possible to ensure that you've not made a mistake.
00:05:14Miss Wigan, I believe we can go.
00:05:16Thank you very much, indeed, Mrs. Warne, for your time.
00:05:20Our pleasure.
00:05:21My brother always knows what he's doing.
00:05:26Oh, I'm quite particular about book size and price.
00:05:32And I'd like to avoid that dreadful Gothic typeface your children's books usually have.
00:05:37I'm sure everything will be to your satisfaction.
00:05:41Miss Potter, you're...
00:05:45Of course.
00:05:48My portfolio.
00:05:52Come along, Peter.
00:06:04Sir Isaac, the news...
00:06:06It can't be serious, Frank.
00:06:08That book won't sell ten copies.
00:06:09Of course not.
00:06:10However, the thought did occur to me.
00:06:14Norman, we prompt Miss Potter may turn out to be a godsend.
00:06:18Home, Miss Potter.
00:06:20No, Saunders.
00:06:22Drive me through the park.
00:06:24Through all the parks.
00:06:26I beg your pardon, Miss Potter.
00:06:28Drive!
00:06:29Oh, God.
00:06:30We did it.
00:06:34Did you hear my heart?
00:06:35It was a kettle drum.
00:06:37You see, we cannot stay home all our lives.
00:06:39We must present ourselves to the world.
00:06:42And we must look upon it as an adventure.
00:06:44Faster, Saunders.
00:07:05Faster, Saunders, if you please.
00:07:07No, Miss Behricks, no.
00:07:08Faster, you can't, old boy.
00:07:09Run!
00:07:10Yeah!
00:07:15Oh, my god!
00:07:16Oh, my God!
00:07:17I see it!
00:07:27Whoa!
00:07:36Saunders?
00:07:36Beatrix where have you been? it's after four o'clock.
00:07:49I'm not a child. I can do things without my mother's permission.
00:07:52I was hoping to use the carriage myself this afternoon. Where were you?
00:07:55I took a drive with my friends.
00:08:06You don't have any friends?
00:08:25Yes I do mother. Every time I draw.
00:08:31Some of your paintings are quite pretty Beatrix.
00:08:34But I'm not going to deceive you as your father does and and call them great art.
00:08:49Well my friend when I'm a published author then we shall see.
00:09:04Beatrix. Bertram. Time for good nights.
00:09:12I haven't finished yet.
00:09:14Come on. Hurry up.
00:09:16Bertram.
00:09:17There. I got him.
00:09:18But it's real barbaric.
00:09:20Come on you two. Hurry up.
00:09:22Down you go.
00:09:24Slowly.
00:09:25Harry Rupert. It won't do to be late to the hides.
00:09:32Doesn't Amaya look beautiful Beatrix? Being in a temper puts such a rose into her cheeks.
00:09:37When you grow up Beatrix and have to run a household, plan parties, keep a social calendar and put up with a man who's never been introduced to a clock, your cheeks will glow too.
00:09:46Look at this ribbon.
00:09:48Now it's unsightly. Change her into something decent.
00:09:51Here oh dear.
00:09:52And give this nightdress away.
00:09:53Oh this will never do. I have just old fingers and thumbs.
00:09:55What impossible.
00:09:56But we are so late.
00:09:58What have you drawn today Beatrix?
00:10:00Benjamin Bunny having a rest.
00:10:02Oh.
00:10:03His ears are getting better and better. And the shading here is very good Beatrix.
00:10:08Rupert.
00:10:09See you good nights now children.
00:10:11Good night mother.
00:10:12Good night Beatrix.
00:10:13Good night father.
00:10:14Good night Beatrix.
00:10:15Good night mother.
00:10:16Good night Bertram.
00:10:17Good night father.
00:10:18Good night Bertram.
00:10:19Now hurry upstairs.
00:10:20Come on.
00:10:21Must make mama and papa.
00:10:22Later than they are.
00:10:23Oh children.
00:10:24What now?
00:10:25On my way home I happened to walk down Piccadilly and what do you think jumped into my pockets?
00:10:30Something very special for the young entomologist.
00:10:33Oh.
00:10:34And something very suitable for the young lady who is very soon to grow up to run a fine
00:10:39home just like her mother.
00:10:40We'll open them upstairs.
00:10:41Come on.
00:10:42Thank you father.
00:10:43Yeah.
00:10:44Thank you father.
00:10:45Come on.
00:10:53Late.
00:10:54Late.
00:10:55Late.
00:10:56We are not late.
00:10:57We'll never be invited to the hides again.
00:10:58For heaven's sake Helen.
00:10:59It's polite to be a little late.
00:11:00Now get in the garage.
00:11:01This isn't polite late.
00:11:03This is late late.
00:11:07Right wee ones.
00:11:08One story.
00:11:09And then bed.
00:11:10I want Beatrix to tell a story.
00:11:12Hers are funny.
00:11:13Oh.
00:11:14Indeed they are.
00:11:15And I know exactly what it'll be about.
00:11:17Tom Thumb and Hunker Dunker.
00:11:19Precisely.
00:11:20Tom, Hunker, are you ready to plan a story?
00:11:22Oh yes for eggs and cactus.
00:11:24Well we shall see about that.
00:11:26This will be our test.
00:11:27Over there.
00:11:31Once upon a time those two excellent housekeepers, Lucinda and Jane, bought some shiny new porcelain
00:11:37food which they set out on their perfectly appointed dining room table.
00:11:41Then they decide to go for a walk.
00:11:43Suddenly there came a scuffling noise from the kitchen.
00:11:49Tom Thumb and the Hunker Monker crept out.
00:11:52The two mice saw that the dining table was set for dinner.
00:11:56Tom Thumb leapt up and took a big bite from the first plate and broke his tooth.
00:12:02Oh!
00:12:03Are we expecting someone?
00:12:05It's my publishers.
00:12:06Oh.
00:12:07It's not a social call.
00:12:09In fact I'm rather dreading it.
00:12:11I wish you wouldn't invite tradespeople into the house.
00:12:14They carry dust.
00:12:15Well, next time I shall go to their office.
00:12:23Mr Norman Warren.
00:12:25Miss Potter.
00:12:26Oh.
00:12:27I hope you will forgive my intrusion into your daily routine.
00:12:30I was expecting one of the...
00:12:31Ah, yes.
00:12:32I am Harold and Fruing's brother.
00:12:34I have recently joined the firm and they have done me the great honour of assigning your
00:12:37book to me.
00:12:41It was most gracious of you to invite me to...
00:12:43Tea?
00:12:44Yes, I would love some tea.
00:12:45Yes.
00:12:47Lemon.
00:12:55Extraordinary.
00:12:56Oh, and funny.
00:12:58Delightful and magical and so beautifully drawn.
00:13:02I am utterly, utterly speechless.
00:13:05Perhaps we should discuss our business, Mr Warren.
00:13:08I put your drawings aside with the greatest reluctance.
00:13:13Your brother's letter makes two proposals which I find quite unacceptable.
00:13:18First, they'd like the drawings to be in colour.
00:13:21I'm adamant they'd be in black and white.
00:13:23But Peter Rabbit's blue jacket and the red radishes surely would like your enchanting drawings
00:13:28reproduced as they are.
00:13:29Well, of course I would prefer colour, but colour will make the book cost far more than
00:13:33little rabbits can afford.
00:13:35I'm adamant.
00:13:36Which brings us to your brother's second point.
00:13:39They wish to reduce the number of drawings by nearly a third.
00:13:42Totally unacceptable.
00:13:44Let me explain.
00:13:45The idea of reducing the number of drawings was not my brother's but my own.
00:13:49If we can reduce the number to 31 precisely, then the illustrations for the entire book can
00:13:54be printed on a single sheet of paper.
00:13:56Using what we call the three colour process that you desire, and at a relatively low level
00:14:00of cost, yes?
00:14:02Who?
00:14:03I've given your book a great deal of attention, truly.
00:14:07I would like it to look colourful on the shelf so that it stands out from ordinary books.
00:14:12You have given it some thought.
00:14:15Which other books have you supervised, Mr. Warne?
00:14:18Personally?
00:14:19Yes.
00:14:20This will be my first.
00:14:22Ah.
00:14:24Miss Potter, I have recently informed my brothers and my mother that I'm no longer content to
00:14:29stay at home and play nursemaid solely because I am the youngest son.
00:14:32No.
00:14:33I would like a proper job working for my family's firm.
00:14:36And they have assigned me you.
00:14:38Does that make things clearer?
00:14:41In other words, you have no experience whatsoever, but because you've made a nuisance of yourself
00:14:48demanding a chance, they've fobbed you off on me.
00:14:51Miss Potter, I know all too well what my brothers intended giving me your...
00:14:56your bunny book, as they call it, but I find your book quite enchanting, delightful.
00:15:02And if they intended to fob me off, as you say, then we shall show them.
00:15:07We shall give them a bunny book to conjure with, in colours, mixed to your satisfaction
00:15:12in front of your very eyes at the printer.
00:15:14At the printer?
00:15:16Oh, I could never.
00:15:17I will escort you there myself, if you will allow me the honour.
00:15:22Why would I never?
00:15:24Of course I'll go.
00:15:25I'm a grown woman, Miss Wigan will be there.
00:15:27I see absolutely no reason why an artist shouldn't visit her printer.
00:15:31Excellent, Miss Potter.
00:15:33Jolly good.
00:15:36I shall make all the arrangements, and I am in every way, my dear lady, at your service.
00:15:41Oh!
00:15:42You and rabbits. Extraordinary.
00:15:43Excuse me.
00:15:44Doctor, come and get the trunks, would you?
00:15:45Yes, ma'am.
00:15:46Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
00:15:47Put it there.
00:15:48I will be careful.
00:15:49One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
00:15:50When I was ten, my mother badgered my father into spending the summer in the Lake District,
00:15:53as did other fashionable families.
00:15:55Like an animal released from its cage, I fell under its spell.
00:16:13Mind your frocks now. Come here.
00:16:19The woods are full of fairies and little folk that look for children that get their clothes dirty.
00:16:24And when they find them, they send the fairy beasts at night, with sharp teeth and a ready appetite for young flesh.
00:16:32I'm trying to let you be!
00:16:33No!
00:16:34No!
00:16:35No!
00:16:36No!
00:16:37No!
00:16:38No!
00:16:39No!
00:16:40No!
00:16:41No!
00:16:42No!
00:16:43No!
00:16:44No!
00:16:45No!
00:16:46Yes!
00:16:47Yes!
00:16:48Yes!
00:16:49Yes!
00:16:50Yes, yes!
00:16:51Yes!
00:16:53Hello?
00:16:54Hello!
00:16:55Back him!
00:16:56Now he's been rebuilt.
00:16:57Don't.
00:16:58Farmer's children, their hands and jams.
00:17:01Come on.
00:17:02Back him!
00:17:03That's him! That's him!
00:17:23That's him, babe!
00:17:28There he is! Oh, yes!
00:17:30Come on!
00:17:34Ouch! Out of the way!
00:17:41Ah!
00:17:56Ooh!
00:17:57I don't think a thrashing will be necessary.
00:18:10I'll just leave the window in the nursery unlatched tonight.
00:18:13The fairy beasts will take care of the rest.
00:18:15No! I'll stay clean!
00:18:17Bertram!
00:18:19Really, Beatrix, what young man is ever going to marry a girl with a face full of mud?
00:18:24Well, I shan't marry, so it doesn't matter.
00:18:26Of course you shall marry. All girls marry. I did. Your grandmother did. Even Fiona will one day.
00:18:33Well, I shan't. I shall draw.
00:18:35Oh, those silly drawings. Then who will love you?
00:18:38My art and my animals. I won't need more love than that.
00:18:42Perhaps not at eleven, but let's see if you still feel the same way at eighteen.
00:18:46I drew Mama when we first met, and she married me. And Fiona doesn't mud wash off. Bertram, come with me.
00:18:53Go on.
00:18:54Die, you little devil!
00:19:00Ugh!
00:19:01Right! Prince Charming himself couldn't resist such a bonny wee girl.
00:19:05Not when he meets my brother, Vlad the Impaler.
00:19:08Got you!
00:19:09Bedtime, my young reprobates!
00:19:12Now, shall I leave a window open, or...?
00:19:15No! I don't like fairy beasts!
00:19:17Well, it is a well-known fact that fairy beasts never eat a child when he's tucked up in his own bed.
00:19:23The fairies have been in the North Country for hundreds of years and have had many adventures.
00:19:29Have I told you about the changeling child?
00:19:32No!
00:19:33Yes, several times.
00:19:35I want to hear it.
00:19:37I'll go ahead, Fiona. I'll tell myself a story.
00:19:40Right.
00:19:42Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen.
00:19:46Once upon a time, there were four little rabbits.
00:19:49Their names were Flopsy Mopsy.
00:19:53Cottontail and Peter.
00:19:55Now, my dears, said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden.
00:20:04Why not, Mother?
00:20:06Because your father had an accident there.
00:20:10He was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.
00:20:13Yes, that's true.
00:20:15Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden and squeezed under the gate.
00:20:23I like it.
00:20:38But round the end of the cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor?
00:20:43Peter was out of breath and trembling with fright, and he had not the least idea which way to go.
00:20:48It's muddy, actually.
00:20:50One more, Mr. Mortimer. Lighten it up, hmm?
00:20:52Mr. McGregor caught sight of him at the corner, but Peter did not care.
00:20:55He slipped underneath the gate and was safe at last in the wood outside.
00:21:00Not quite.
00:21:02See here.
00:21:03It's still a bit...
00:21:04When Peter came home, his mother put him to bed with a tablespoonful of chamomile tea.
00:21:18But Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper.
00:21:25This book, it's changed things for me, Mr. Warren.
00:21:34How so?
00:21:35Well, for one thing, it's given me the chance to prove to my mother that an unmarried woman of 32 can do more than attend tea parties and smile at dull conversations.
00:21:49Yes, indeed.
00:21:50You know, my family never wanted me to get into publishing either.
00:21:53We do make rather a good team, don't you think?
00:21:56Hmm.
00:21:58Provided, of course, we prove them wrong.
00:22:01Mother, this is Miss Potter.
00:22:15Ah, at last.
00:22:18We poor forgotten folk in Bedford Square get to share some of Norman's excitement.
00:22:22Mrs. Warren, it's so kind of you to invite me.
00:22:25Nonsense.
00:22:26It was the desperate act of a woman who was beginning to forget what her son looked like.
00:22:30Mother.
00:22:31And this is my sister, Amelia.
00:22:32Hello.
00:22:33Norman allowed us a peek at Peter Rabbit, Miss Potter.
00:22:35We found it utterly charming, so we weedled, cajoled and absolutely insisted that Norman bring you round for tea.
00:22:41I have decided that you and I are going to be friends.
00:22:44Have you?
00:22:46Well, Norman tells me that you're unmarried, as am I, and that you're not unhappy about it, and I can't tell you how much that pleases me.
00:22:53Why can't you talk about the weather like other girls?
00:22:56Well, all the other unmarried daughters in our circle, and believe me, there are many, they sit around all day gossiping and unaccountably bursting into tears.
00:23:03But you have done something.
00:23:05You've written a book.
00:23:07I warn you, I am prepared to like you very much.
00:23:10Well, in that case, I shall have to like you too, Miss Warren.
00:23:13Call me Millie, and that's to be the last of Miss Potter too, I'm afraid.
00:23:16Absolutely.
00:23:17Beatrix, by all means.
00:23:18Thank goodness, the tea.
00:23:19I think you need to feel quite ill with all this bonhomie.
00:23:22Oh, do let's have tea in the garden, Mother.
00:23:24It's too beautiful a day in every way not to share it with the flowers.
00:23:30Well, I love to garden.
00:23:31Mother disapproves, but I can't help myself.
00:23:33I love flowers, shockingly.
00:23:34That's why you have the hands of a greengrocer.
00:23:37I do not.
00:23:38Thank heavens.
00:23:39Norman sometimes deigns to read to me.
00:23:41If I had to rely on you for companionship, I should expire of loneliness.
00:23:45My mother's taste in books, Miss Potter, and I'm afraid in life, runs to the, um, melodramatic.
00:23:50Oh, nonsense.
00:23:51I like good English biographies, and you know it.
00:23:55I loathe silly romances, such as the ones your brothers publish.
00:23:58My brothers and I, Mother.
00:24:00I am part of the firm now too, you know.
00:24:02Oh, a sweet-natured boy like you does not need to work.
00:24:05Your brothers provide quite well for all of us, and I need your smile here.
00:24:10That then no one listens to a crotchety old lady in a wheelchair.
00:24:13Indeed they don't, Mother.
00:24:15My mother may be crotchety, Miss Potter, but she does have an eye for beautiful things.
00:24:18She was fascinated by your drawings.
00:24:20Oh.
00:24:21Oh.
00:24:22Utterly unique.
00:24:23Oh.
00:24:24Yes, well.
00:24:25When I see something unusual, I, I'm not content just to look at it.
00:24:29I must capture it.
00:24:31Last summer, in the farmyard, I was drawing something that was quite lovely in the sun,
00:24:37and suddenly I realised I was drawing the pig's swill bucket.
00:24:40Had to laugh at myself.
00:24:43I feel a bit of a chill, Norman.
00:24:46Can you take me inside?
00:24:47Of course.
00:24:48Please excuse me.
00:24:49It was delightful meeting you, Miss Potter.
00:24:51And you?
00:24:52Do stay longer, and teach Millie how to behave.
00:24:55Funny.
00:24:56I think that means she likes you.
00:25:01Did she say she likes to draw swill buckets?
00:25:04Indeed she did, Mother.
00:25:06Indeed she did.
00:25:08I think by Wednesday you could hang the lace curtains upstairs.
00:25:12Then at least it'll look like summer, even if it doesn't feel like it.
00:25:15Yes, madam.
00:25:16Oh, Beatrix, what is this stain on your blouse?
00:25:19Jane says it won't wash out and she's tried everything.
00:25:21Oh, it's ink.
00:25:22Ink.
00:25:23I must have brushed against something at the printers.
00:25:26Jane, I'm very sorry for causing you extra work.
00:25:29Jane, take the blouse away.
00:25:30Give it to the poor.
00:25:31This behaviour shows scant regard for your father's money.
00:25:35Well, one day I shall make enough money to buy my own clothes.
00:25:39I'm far too old to be living off the generosity of my father.
00:25:42You're too old to be spending so much time in the company of a man who takes you to printers.
00:25:46Your father does not approve, and neither do I.
00:25:49Mr. Warne is publishing my book.
00:25:52That book.
00:25:53I can hardly wait till it's finished and forgotten.
00:25:56I don't understand you, Beatrix.
00:25:58Your father and I have introduced you to so many suitable young men of your class.
00:26:02Young men of fortune and impeccably good family.
00:26:05Oh, certainly.
00:26:06Like that charming fellow, Lionel Stokely.
00:26:09Lionel is a particular favourite of his uncle, the Earl, whom we visit every summer at Stokely Court.
00:26:15Oh, and I do regret terribly that I didn't accept Harry Haddon Bell.
00:26:19Harry's great-grandfather went to Sandhurst.
00:26:21Harry's grandfather went to Sandhurst.
00:26:23Harry's father went to Sandhurst.
00:26:25And so I went to Sandhurst.
00:26:27A father and I and the gamekeeper often go out writing in the morning and shoot breakfast.
00:26:32Ashland's a crack shot.
00:26:34But no, you're just a pig-headed girl.
00:26:37Mr. Warne is asking for you at the door, miss.
00:26:40Mr. Warne? He's not expected.
00:26:43Unannounced perfection.
00:26:45Two sold while we were at the booksellers.
00:27:00That amounts to forty in a week.
00:27:02Forty?
00:27:03Which is a hundred and sixty in a month.
00:27:04Good gracious.
00:27:05I'm trying to remember my twelve times table.
00:27:07Nin-nineteen hundred and twenty in a year.
00:27:09I can't breathe.
00:27:10That's just in one shop.
00:27:11My dear Miss Potter, you are an author.
00:27:12We have achieved what we set out to do.
00:27:13We have created a book.
00:27:15Yes.
00:27:16What's the matter?
00:27:17A cloud just passed across your face.
00:27:18You have been very generous with your time, Mr. Warne.
00:27:19You've shown me things that...
00:27:20I knew that, you are a hundred and four times table.
00:27:21You've had to do the same.
00:27:22I'm trying to remember my twelve times table.
00:27:23I'm trying to remember my twelve times table.
00:27:24Nin...
00:27:25Nineteen hundred and twenty in a year.
00:27:26I can't breathe.
00:27:27That's just in one shop.
00:27:28My dear Miss Potter, you are an author.
00:27:29We have achieved what we set out to do.
00:27:31We have created a book.
00:27:33Yes.
00:27:37What's the matter?
00:27:39A cloud just passed across your face.
00:27:43You've been very generous with your time, Mr. Warren.
00:27:47Showing me things that I never would have seen.
00:27:50Printing houses.
00:27:52I shall miss your company.
00:27:55Are you losing my company?
00:27:57Well, it just occurred to me that the book is out
00:28:00and our association is coming to an end.
00:28:04Miss Potter, I had hoped that you might have other stories.
00:28:11Really? Really?
00:28:15Do you know, I recently remembered one.
00:28:18I thought I'd forgotten it.
00:28:19About a duck.
00:28:22A very stupid duck.
00:28:24Based on one of your friends?
00:28:26It's based on myself, I think.
00:28:29It's a story I told a friend once.
00:28:31Yes?
00:28:32My family's summer's in the Lake District,
00:28:35and there was someone there, the groundsman's son,
00:28:37who was always interested in my stories.
00:28:44Oh, Miss Beatrix!
00:28:47Are you skulking?
00:28:48No such thing, really, Healus.
00:28:50No, I was drying off my sketchbook.
00:28:52Not bad, Miss Beatrix.
00:29:00Do you have any animal stories for me today?
00:29:03I don't.
00:29:03Sorry.
00:29:04Nothing new.
00:29:07Oh, that's Jemima.
00:29:09She doesn't have a story yet.
00:29:10Not a proper one.
00:29:12Jemima a duck?
00:29:13Jemima a puddle duck.
00:29:15And a stupider duck the world has never seen.
00:29:17She goes looking for a safe place to lay her eggs,
00:29:22then meets a charming gentleman with a long, bushy tail
00:29:24and very sharp teeth.
00:29:26Uh-huh.
00:29:29Precisely.
00:29:30The gentleman offers her his shed,
00:29:32and Jemima is surprised to find that there are so many feathers in it.
00:29:35But then, as I told you,
00:29:37she's a very stupid duck.
00:29:38I like it.
00:29:43I'd love to paint every view in this valley,
00:29:45but I'm not very good at landscapes.
00:29:48Wait too long,
00:29:49and it won't be here to paint, Miss Beatrix.
00:29:51Really?
00:29:51That's ridiculous.
00:29:53No, I'm serious.
00:29:54The large farms have been broken up into small plots and sold off.
00:29:57Well,
00:29:58you can't stand in the way of progress.
00:30:01So they say.
00:30:03But I say,
00:30:05beauty's worth preserving.
00:30:06I know you do, really.
00:30:08But nobody could disagree with you about that.
00:30:12Well, I'll see you soon, then.
00:30:14Perhaps not, Miss Beatrix.
00:30:16I'm leaving for Manchester next week.
00:30:18To study the law?
00:30:20Yes, indeed.
00:30:21I have to better myself somehow.
00:30:23Good luck.
00:30:25Send me some drawings.
00:30:26I will.
00:30:30He encouraged me to take my writing seriously.
00:30:33We must get started on the news stories straight away.
00:30:35Jemima Puddle Duck.
00:30:36I think the public should like that.
00:30:38And Tom Thumb and Hunker Monker.
00:30:39What do you think?
00:30:41If you think...
00:30:42Your book has been very important in my life.
00:30:44You have been very important in my life.
00:30:46And you and mine, Mr. Warren.
00:30:48We must do it again and again.
00:30:50And again?
00:30:51I promise you,
00:30:52I intend to be a nuisance.
00:30:53When did you decide you wouldn't marry?
00:31:17Just before my 20th birthday,
00:31:20Mother came to my room
00:31:22and announced that Lionel Stokely
00:31:24was to marry Gwendolyn Olcott
00:31:25and they would live at Stokely Court,
00:31:27which Lionel had just inherited from the Earl.
00:31:30And I knew right then
00:31:32that she would bring me no more suitors
00:31:33and that I would never marry.
00:31:37And that shocked me.
00:31:39Hmm.
00:31:40But I felt relieved.
00:31:42And that shocked me.
00:31:44Hmm.
00:31:45So I went into the garden
00:31:46and filled an entire notebook with sketches.
00:31:49Men are boars.
00:31:51They're useful for only two things in life,
00:31:53financial support and procreation.
00:31:55Billy, you say outrageous things.
00:31:59Ah, but the price.
00:32:03What price?
00:32:04Domestic enslavement,
00:32:06childbirth,
00:32:08terrifying.
00:32:09No unmarried women have a better life.
00:32:11I swear it's true.
00:32:12No houses,
00:32:14no babies,
00:32:15no husbands
00:32:15demanding things all the time.
00:32:17As long as one's lucky enough in life
00:32:19to have a good friend,
00:32:20I'm so glad Norman found you, Beatrix.
00:32:23I was missing something I didn't even know.
00:32:29Dear Miss Potter,
00:32:39I enclose with great pleasure
00:32:41the latest in what I hope
00:32:42will be a long line of tales.
00:32:44Yours affably,
00:32:45Norman Warne.
00:32:46Mr. Warne,
00:32:47would you and Millie
00:32:48like to come to a Christmas party?
00:32:50My parents hold one every year
00:32:52and I think it's high time
00:32:53that I invited someone.
00:32:55Yes, we'd be delighted to attend.
00:32:57Thrilled, in fact.
00:33:13Be still, little imps.
00:33:16Peter, you naughty boy.
00:33:18Look what an example you're setting.
00:33:22That's better.
00:33:24Any more of that
00:33:25and I'll paint you out.
00:33:28Your father is home.
00:33:36How's your day at the club, Father?
00:33:39Interesting, as always.
00:33:40Rupert, we seem to have a situation.
00:33:42We need your resolution.
00:33:43I want to invite Norman Warne
00:33:45and his sister to our Christmas party.
00:33:46With Lady Armitage,
00:33:47with Sir Nigel and Sibyl,
00:33:49a tradesman, Rupert.
00:33:51How will anyone have fun?
00:33:52He's a gentleman
00:33:53who publishes my books, Father.
00:33:57Rupert.
00:33:58I have something here, Beatrix.
00:34:01I went into Hatchard's bookshop
00:34:03and I purchased this
00:34:04with good money.
00:34:06Now, Hugh Whittiford
00:34:07bearded me in the club
00:34:08and rattled on for hours.
00:34:09You know, old Hugh,
00:34:10jowls all aflutter.
00:34:11Wipes bought three of your girls' books
00:34:12for our granddaughter's nursery,
00:34:14sending more by ship
00:34:15to Chums and Bombay.
00:34:16Very soon, the whole club
00:34:17was telling me of some purchase
00:34:19that they had made
00:34:19of our daughter's creations.
00:34:22So I thought it was time
00:34:23that I bought one.
00:34:23So I went straight into Hatchard's,
00:34:25put my shilling onto the counter.
00:34:27I would have given you one.
00:34:28But I wanted to buy one,
00:34:29like everyone else.
00:34:32Now, I owe you an apology, Beatrix.
00:34:35When you showed me your books,
00:34:36all I saw was my little girl
00:34:38bringing me clever drawings
00:34:39for me to comment on.
00:34:42You're not a little girl anymore.
00:34:44You're an artist.
00:34:45A genuine article.
00:34:48I would have been proud
00:34:49to use that word about myself.
00:34:52And I'm proud of you, Beatrix.
00:34:54Thank you, Father.
00:34:56So I don't see any reason
00:34:57why we cannot make
00:34:58a little social effort
00:34:59to welcome the gentleman
00:35:01responsible for this blessing
00:35:03into our home.
00:35:04Thank you, Father.
00:35:10I think it will be good
00:35:11for all of us.
00:35:15Merry Christmas, Rupert.
00:35:25Linus, don't serve Sir Nigel
00:35:27the punch with brundie
00:35:28unless he demands it.
00:35:29Yes, ma'am.
00:35:30And after dinner,
00:35:31he'll take port.
00:35:32Come and give me a little signal
00:35:33after he's had four glasses.
00:35:35Yes, ma'am.
00:35:36The house shimmers, my darling.
00:35:39You've done it again.
00:35:40Oh.
00:35:42Good evening, sir.
00:35:43Good evening.
00:35:43Good evening.
00:35:44Mr. Warne.
00:35:45Millie.
00:35:46How wonderful.
00:35:48Thank you, Jane.
00:35:52Mother, Father,
00:35:57I would like you to meet
00:35:59Miss Amelia
00:36:00and Mr. Norman Warne.
00:36:02How charming of you
00:36:03to be so punctual.
00:36:05I think Wigan is under strict orders
00:36:30never to leave our side.
00:36:32How festive.
00:36:33Such scintillating
00:37:02conversation.
00:37:03Oh, mine as well.
00:37:05The weather in Amsterdam
00:37:06in July.
00:37:07Could I interest you ladies
00:37:08in an after-dinner coffee?
00:37:10Some of the gentlemen
00:37:11would like to play
00:37:12a few hands of cards
00:37:13but we're short of a fourth.
00:37:14I don't suppose you play whist,
00:37:16Mr. Warne?
00:37:16I'm afraid I've never had
00:37:17much aptitude for cards.
00:37:18Oh, that is a pity.
00:37:20I play.
00:37:21Oh, this is to play
00:37:22with Sir Nigel, Miss Warne.
00:37:23Sir Nigel takes his whist
00:37:24very seriously.
00:37:25I play rather well, actually.
00:37:27Do you, Millie?
00:37:28Well, I'm sure you two
00:37:30have plenty to talk about
00:37:32without me
00:37:32and if they can't play
00:37:34without a fourth one.
00:37:36Come along, Miss Warne.
00:37:40Carol's in the music room,
00:37:41my dears.
00:37:44Perhaps I could show you
00:37:45your Christmas present.
00:37:47Yes.
00:37:48It's upstairs.
00:37:49I will bring the coffee.
00:38:08Mrs. Wigan?
00:38:10Miss?
00:38:10Miss Wigan.
00:38:11I have taken the liberty
00:38:12of adding a splash of brandy
00:38:13to our coffees.
00:38:14Oh?
00:38:15Well, it is Christmas.
00:38:16Is this where you paint,
00:38:19Miss Potter?
00:38:20Yes.
00:38:21And it's where we shall
00:38:22find your Christmas present.
00:38:28Oh, my.
00:38:30I think other than Bertram and Father,
00:38:31you are the first man
00:38:32ever to set foot in this room.
00:38:33Oh, would you like me to leave?
00:38:34No, no, no, no.
00:38:35Wigan is here.
00:38:36And if this is the best
00:38:37I can do for scandal at my age,
00:38:39I'm hardly worthy
00:38:40of my reputation for creativity.
00:38:43Here.
00:38:46My, but it's beautiful.
00:38:49Is it the new story?
00:38:50Miss Potter,
00:38:51is it the new story?
00:38:53Is it...
00:38:53Oh, I'm not going to tell you.
00:38:56Come over here.
00:38:58Ah, it's Jemima Puddledacker.
00:39:00Mm, it's the first drawing
00:39:01I ever did of Jemima.
00:39:02I was, er,
00:39:03eight, I think.
00:39:05Jemima, stop that.
00:39:08Stop what?
00:39:09Just some silliness.
00:39:13And what's this?
00:39:14Oh, it's a music box.
00:39:17My father gave it to me
00:39:18for my sixth birthday.
00:39:19He did the painting himself.
00:39:21Oh, so your father
00:39:21is an artist, too.
00:39:22No, he always wanted
00:39:23to be an artist,
00:39:24but the family disapproved,
00:39:25so he took up law.
00:39:27Hmm.
00:39:27Yes, the joke is
00:39:28I've never once heard him
00:39:29discuss a case.
00:39:31He goes to his club every day
00:39:32and never his office,
00:39:33so I don't really know
00:39:35what he does.
00:39:37Oh, dear.
00:39:38Who?
00:39:40Wigan is valuable.
00:39:41I'm afraid, Miss Potter,
00:39:42your reputation
00:39:42is now officially dented.
00:39:46Ah, let me teach you
00:39:47how to dance.
00:39:47Do you dance, Miss Potter?
00:39:49No.
00:39:49Well, not well.
00:39:51Now I make a terrible
00:39:52hash of a two when I try,
00:39:53but the words are very sweet.
00:39:54Oh, no, the words.
00:39:55Will you sing the words?
00:39:56Well, uh, let me teach you
00:40:03how to dance.
00:40:05Let me lead you to the floor.
00:40:10Simply place your hand in mine
00:40:14and then think of nothing more.
00:40:18Let the music cast its spell.
00:40:24Give the atmosphere a chance.
00:40:28Simply follow where I lead.
00:40:33Let me teach you how to dance.
00:40:42Miss Potter,
00:40:43I know you have decided
00:40:46not to marry.
00:40:48All my life I thought
00:40:49that I would not marry either,
00:40:50but something has happened
00:40:51that has caused me
00:40:52to change my mind.
00:40:52Mr. Warne.
00:40:53No, please, let me go on,
00:40:54for if I do not say
00:40:55what I have to say now,
00:40:55I fear I never will.
00:40:58Miss Potter,
00:40:59I would like you to consider
00:41:02doing me the honour,
00:41:05and I do not expect
00:41:06an immediate answer.
00:41:07Beatrix?
00:41:09I was just showing Mr. Warne
00:41:11his Christmas present.
00:41:14I'm an impeccably genteel,
00:41:16unmarried lady, Mother.
00:41:17I haven't begun
00:41:17to invite men to my room.
00:41:19Mr. Warne?
00:41:37I think they were in me too.
00:41:38What is the picture, Beatrix?
00:41:47Oh, um,
00:41:48I've written and drawn
00:41:52little children's books
00:41:54which have been published.
00:41:56The man who published them
00:41:57is here,
00:41:58Mr. Norman Warne,
00:41:59to thank him
00:42:01for his assistance
00:42:02and generosity.
00:42:03Well, I'm
00:42:06I'm writing him
00:42:08a Christmas story.
00:42:10Can we hear it?
00:42:11Oh, it isn't finished, so.
00:42:13Oh, go on.
00:42:15Oh, well,
00:42:16I suppose
00:42:17before we part
00:42:19for the evening,
00:42:20I could share
00:42:21a glimpse
00:42:21of the unfinished
00:42:23tale
00:42:24of
00:42:25the rabbit's
00:42:27Christmas party.
00:42:28One particularly
00:42:34snowy
00:42:35Christmas Eve,
00:42:36a young rabbit
00:42:37and his
00:42:38fearsome
00:42:39older brothers
00:42:40and fiercely
00:42:41brave
00:42:41sister
00:42:42set out
00:42:43on a journey
00:42:44they make
00:42:44every year
00:42:45to celebrate
00:42:46with their friends.
00:42:48Now, rabbits
00:42:48are highly sociable
00:42:49creatures,
00:42:50and legend
00:42:51has it
00:42:51that wherever
00:42:51they find
00:42:52themselves
00:42:52on Christmas Eve
00:42:53they get together
00:42:54and throw
00:42:55a jolly party.
00:42:57Now, I know
00:42:58such a legend exists
00:42:59because I made it up.
00:43:04The rabbits
00:43:05travel through the woods
00:43:06to the well-appointed
00:43:07burrow
00:43:08of their cousins
00:43:09where a warm fire
00:43:11is waiting for them.
00:43:13They take off
00:43:14their frosty coats
00:43:15and the party
00:43:17begins.
00:43:19Now, I know
00:43:19on this night
00:43:20that they will
00:43:21eat and talk
00:43:22and dance
00:43:22and laugh
00:43:23and roast apples
00:43:25on the fire,
00:43:26but I'm not certain
00:43:28how the story ends
00:43:30because I haven't
00:43:33made that pot up yet.
00:43:35But in any case,
00:43:37Mr. Warne
00:43:38will have to read it first
00:43:39as he is my strict censor
00:43:42and, well,
00:43:44it is his present.
00:43:45Merry Christmas,
00:43:46Mr. Warne.
00:43:48Thank you,
00:43:48Miss Potter.
00:43:49It's so beautiful.
00:43:49Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:43:51Good show.
00:43:52There'll be no problem
00:43:53with presents for the
00:43:54grandchildren next year,
00:43:55I dare say.
00:43:56Oh, you must be
00:43:57very proud, Helen.
00:43:58It's just a children's story.
00:44:02Outstanding.
00:44:03Can I talk to you?
00:44:05Of course.
00:44:05What is this?
00:44:12Is there something wrong?
00:44:13No.
00:44:14That's my confidante.
00:44:15Oh, you have something
00:44:17to confide.
00:44:18How delicious.
00:44:20Your brother
00:44:21has asked me to marry him
00:44:23and I feel
00:44:24quite irrationally
00:44:26that I may say
00:44:27yes.
00:44:28I'd like your approval.
00:44:34My approval?
00:44:37Beatrix,
00:44:38don't be a fool.
00:44:41Marry him.
00:44:44Tomorrow.
00:44:45Don't waste a moment.
00:44:46How could you hesitate?
00:44:48You're not upset.
00:44:49Well,
00:44:49why would I be upset?
00:44:51Well,
00:44:52both Norman and I,
00:44:54you'll be alone.
00:44:55You have a chance
00:44:56for happiness
00:44:57and you're worrying
00:44:58about me.
00:44:59I wouldn't worry
00:44:59about you if
00:45:00someone came along
00:45:02who loved me
00:45:02and whom I loved,
00:45:03I would trample
00:45:04my mother.
00:45:05Do you love Norman?
00:45:07Hey.
00:45:08Then marry him.
00:45:10Don't you dare
00:45:10think about anyone else.
00:45:12But what about
00:45:13all the blessings
00:45:14of being alone?
00:45:15Hogwash.
00:45:16What else is a woman
00:45:16on her own
00:45:17supposed to say?
00:45:19You have a chance
00:45:20to be loved.
00:45:22Take it.
00:45:24And leave me happy
00:45:25knowing that the two
00:45:26people that I love
00:45:27are happy.
00:45:28That is the most
00:45:29thought you should
00:45:30ever have for me.
00:45:31There you are,
00:45:32Beatrix.
00:45:33The guests.
00:45:35Yes,
00:45:35Mother.
00:45:37Oh,
00:45:37Millie.
00:45:43Here.
00:45:46What is going on
00:45:47tonight?
00:45:49Why do I feel
00:45:50like a stranger
00:45:52in my own home?
00:45:53You have a clever
00:45:53daughter,
00:45:54Rupert.
00:45:54You must be very
00:45:55proud.
00:45:56Beatrix?
00:45:56Yes,
00:45:57we are.
00:45:57To write and draw
00:45:58like that.
00:45:59Beatrix should
00:45:59meet my niece,
00:46:00Anne.
00:46:01She makes pots.
00:46:02Ceramics,
00:46:03Nigel.
00:46:04Look like pots
00:46:05to me.
00:46:07As for you,
00:46:08Madam,
00:46:09I suggest you
00:46:10take up
00:46:10knitting.
00:46:12Merry Christmas,
00:46:13Rupert.
00:46:13What was all that
00:46:19about?
00:46:20Sir Nigel
00:46:21disapproves of
00:46:21the way I play
00:46:22whist.
00:46:22I'm afraid I won
00:46:23two guineas from
00:46:24him.
00:46:25Mr.
00:46:25Ward!
00:46:27Your painting?
00:46:29Oh, yes,
00:46:29my Christmas
00:46:29present.
00:46:35Yes.
00:46:35To you both.
00:46:40Goodbye,
00:46:41Nick.
00:46:44Goodbye,
00:46:44Mr.
00:46:44Warren.
00:46:45Goodbye,
00:46:45Mr.
00:46:45Warren.
00:47:05Goodbye,
00:47:35Sir?
00:47:46I have an appointment to see Mr. Rupert Potter in the Eagleton room.
00:47:49He's expecting you, sir.
00:48:04Come along, Norman.
00:48:05It's only her father.
00:48:09Come in.
00:48:19Thank you very much, Mr. Potter, for taking the time out of your very busy day.
00:48:22Goodbye, Mr. Warden.
00:48:28If you will not accept her advice and decision, then we will have to impose that advice.
00:48:32We respect our knowledge of the world and our opinions, Beatrice.
00:48:34Do you have an understanding of my experience as a consequence?
00:48:37But it's all matter.
00:48:38It's not fair.
00:48:38It would be dire.
00:48:39Now, we'll catch it on the air.
00:48:40Oi.
00:48:41Go.
00:48:43I said that I'll do it.
00:48:46And I will.
00:48:47Norman Ward is a tradesman, Beatrice.
00:48:48No Potter can marry into trade.
00:48:49And that's final.
00:48:50And what are we?
00:48:51Father's money comes from grandfather's printing works in Lancashire.
00:48:55A trade, mother.
00:48:57And if grandfather hadn't run for parliament, we'd still be living in the shadow of his factories.
00:49:02Your legacy came from grandfather Leech's cotton trade.
00:49:06When did we become so high and mighty?
00:49:08We're parvenues, mother.
00:49:10Social climbers.
00:49:11Your father and I will not allow this marriage for your own good.
00:49:15And there's no reason to become insulted.
00:49:17It's not an insult.
00:49:18It's the truth.
00:49:19Our lives are pretension and social aspiration.
00:49:22Sir this and lady that.
00:49:24Norman Ward is a gentleman of comfortable means and not one bit beneath us.
00:49:29And I intend to marry him.
00:49:32Not if you expect to take one penny of your inheritance.
00:49:35You haven't disinherited Bertram for running off with a wine merchant's daughter.
00:49:40Happily, I'm a published author.
00:49:42I have means of my own.
00:49:43This discussion is over.
00:49:58Come in, father.
00:50:01Why is it that after any difficult situation, she always sends you?
00:50:05Mamma didn't send me.
00:50:08I don't like tension in my home.
00:50:11I want to resolve this matter.
00:50:13Well, you can't.
00:50:14I've made my decision.
00:50:15Your mother wants what is best for you, as do I, Beatrix.
00:50:19An impulsive and inappropriate marriage is something that you would ultimately regret.
00:50:23You can't allow me to marry and leave.
00:50:25With Bertram moved away, who would take care of you?
00:50:27You surely do not think that we would deny you happiness just simply because we needed a nursemaid.
00:50:32And that is a knife in my heart.
00:50:33Well, then what is it, father?
00:50:34Because I can't understand.
00:50:35You cannot make us the villains, Beatrix.
00:50:37Your mother trotted out countless suitors, all of them acceptable.
00:50:40You rejected every one of them.
00:50:42I know that, father.
00:50:43I didn't want to be a silly woman marrying a man simply because he was acceptable or rich enough to take care of me.
00:50:50But does that mean that I'm never to be loved?
00:50:55Father!
00:50:56Wigan, wait here, please.
00:51:03I'd like to inquire about my royalty earnings, Mr. Copperthwaite.
00:51:11And whether I might, at some stage, afford a house of my own in the country.
00:51:20You have enough to buy an estate, several estates and a house in town.
00:51:25You're quite a wealthy woman, Miss Potter.
00:51:29Am I truly?
00:51:31Yes.
00:51:31The income has become quite regular.
00:51:35If your fortune continues to grow, you should have no financial worries for the rest of your life.
00:51:45Extraordinary.
00:51:45Beatrix?
00:52:02Beatrix?
00:52:03Come and sit with us, please.
00:52:05I'd rather not, father.
00:52:06We have something to discuss.
00:52:08A proposition.
00:52:09And for heaven's sake, Beatrix, let the servants carry your dishes.
00:52:15Tea?
00:52:18No, thank you.
00:52:19Nonsense.
00:52:20You always take tea.
00:52:21Contrary to what you think and what you have so vehemently expressed,
00:52:26your mama and I want you to be happy.
00:52:29We simply doubt that this marriage will do the trick.
00:52:32Helen, please.
00:52:33Sit down, Beatrix.
00:52:37What we don't want is for you to rush into something which you may later wish to reconsider.
00:52:42I won't want to reconsider.
00:52:43We are not convinced.
00:52:45Helen, please.
00:52:46We are not convinced.
00:52:49Yet neither have we hearts of stone.
00:52:52Therefore, this is what we propose.
00:52:56You may accept, Mr. Warren, but it must remain a complete secret, even from his own family.
00:53:02Now, this summer, yourself, mama and I will go, as always, to the Lake District.
00:53:07If, at the end of the summer, you still wish to proceed, then we will denounce your engagement, and you can marry with our blessing and our love.
00:53:19Why must no one know?
00:53:23Well, and so there'll be no public embarrassment when you change your mind.
00:53:27Well, if you change your mind.
00:53:29If.
00:53:29Now, Beatrix, if you care for this man as much as you say you do, then, in a few months, the ardour will still be there.
00:53:37If your mother and Anne and I are correct, and this emotion cools with time, then we will have protected you against humiliation and unhappiness.
00:53:47It will not cool.
00:53:50Beatrix, listen to me.
00:53:51A woman at your age must consider...
00:53:54Mother, the only thing true at my age is that at my age, every day matters.
00:54:05Very well, mother, father.
00:54:08I accept your terms.
00:54:10Norman and I may decide to wait in any case.
00:54:15But make plans.
00:54:16There will be a wedding in this house by October.
00:54:46Don't wait in any case.
00:54:47I'm going to go back and buy you two of these things.
00:54:54I wish you guys didn't know.
00:54:57You didn't know.
00:55:00I didn't know.
00:55:02I didn't know.
00:55:04I didn't know.
00:55:07I didn't know.
00:55:10I didn't know.
00:55:43Which carriage?
00:55:45Saunders?
00:55:46Five more carriages down.
00:55:49This way.
00:55:50Oh.
00:55:51Oh.
00:55:52Oh.
00:55:53Oh.
00:55:54Oh.
00:55:55Oh.
00:55:56Oh.
00:55:57Oh.
00:55:58Oh.
00:55:59Oh.
00:56:00Oh.
00:56:01Oh.
00:56:02Oh.
00:56:03Oh.
00:56:04Oh.
00:56:05Oh.
00:56:06Oh.
00:56:07Oh.
00:56:08Oh.
00:56:09Oh.
00:56:10Oh.
00:56:11Oh.
00:56:12Oh.
00:56:13Oh.
00:56:14Oh.
00:56:15Oh.
00:56:16This is the potters for Windermere.
00:56:17Quite sure, sir.
00:56:18There.
00:56:19Here.
00:56:20Yeah.
00:56:21And here's two.
00:56:22Beatrice?
00:56:23This way, sir.
00:56:24Two, madam.
00:56:25Sir, please.
00:56:26Mr. Warne!
00:56:27Oh.
00:56:28Oh.
00:56:29Oh.
00:56:30Oh.
00:56:31Oh.
00:56:32Oh.
00:56:33Oh.
00:56:34Oh.
00:56:35Oh.
00:56:36Oh.
00:56:37Oh.
00:56:38Oh.
00:56:39Oh.
00:56:40Oh.
00:56:41Oh.
00:56:42Oh.
00:56:43Oh.
00:56:44Oh, my.
00:56:45Oh.
00:56:46Oh, my.
00:56:47Oh.
00:56:50Oh.
00:56:51Oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:56:52Oh, oh.
00:56:53Oh.
00:56:54Oh.
00:56:56Oh, oh.
00:56:57Miss Potter!
00:56:59Mr. Wann!
00:57:00I was beginning to fear you wouldn't come.
00:57:02You're soaked!
00:57:03It wasn't raining when I left the office.
00:57:05I brought you the proof of the new book for your trip.
00:57:07Oh, you'll catch cold.
00:57:08I couldn't miss seeing you off.
00:57:10You know nothing would stop me.
00:57:12This is going to be the longest summer I've ever spent.
00:57:15But it's only the summer, that's all.
00:57:17Yes.
00:57:17And this time is not for us, it's for your parents.
00:57:19How can they know what we're feeling?
00:57:21They've never felt it.
00:57:22No.
00:57:22We can afford them this three months.
00:57:25I suppose.
00:57:27This is not how I wish to say goodbye to you.
00:57:47Goodbye, Miss Potter.
00:57:49I look forward to your speed of return.
00:57:51As do I, Mr. Wann.
00:57:53Quickly.
00:57:54Yes.
00:57:54Here.
00:57:57Goodbye, Miss Potter.
00:58:05Goodbye, Mr. Wann.
00:58:08Goodbye, Norman.
00:58:10Goodbye, Norman.
00:58:23My dear, dear Norman, this absurd false separation is surely a kind of madness, most notably that of my mother.
00:58:47But you are here, my dear, for me. The beauty of this place seems magnified somehow with you in my mind. In my occasional lonely moments, I imagine conversations between us, and yesterday startled a duck with my declaration of love for you.
00:59:03All of my thoughts are with you, my darling. I know that you find Harold and Fruing terribly boring, but in fact I am having what I could almost describe as wild enjoyment working with them.
00:59:13You may wake up one day to find yourself married to a businessman. Praise the day when I can wake up to find you beside me.
00:59:21I took one of the boats out onto the lake at sunset to watch the water hens feeding. They made noises like kissing. I closed my eyes and pictured you.
00:59:33I find I love my heart more now, because that is where I know I can find you. Amelia sends her fond love and wishes for us all to be together again, as do I, multiplied a hundredfold.
00:59:45Sir? Hilltop farm. May I ask, is it a working farm?
00:59:57Aye. Another great one, Falls. But this one breaks your heart.
01:00:03Really? Why?
01:00:05Ah, miss, a body would have to be a poet, which I certainly am not.
01:00:11Excuse me, but I'd swear you were someone I once knew.
01:00:15Good heavens, Willie Helis.
01:00:17Miss Beatrix, uh, Miss Potter.
01:00:18Is that you?
01:00:19How good to see you.
01:00:20Well, hello. I see you've given up on the law. Have you decided to make an honest living?
01:00:27Ah, yes, the law. Well, er, not exactly. No, no. A country solicitor needs to be proficient in many skills.
01:00:34Of course.
01:00:35And it suits me to be out of the office now and again.
01:00:38Now I could, er, show you Hilltop, if you have the time.
01:00:42Er, yes. Yes, time is exactly what I have.
01:00:47Good.
01:00:57Not a bad outlook, Miss Potter.
01:00:59It's beautiful.
01:01:00It's sublime.
01:01:03By chance I met an old friend today who showed me a beautiful farm that's for sale.
01:01:07It would be a perfect country home and, though I know we'll live mainly in the city, I'm very keen to share my favorite places with you.
01:01:15The post has arrived. And once again, no letter from your Mr. Warne. Is it time for me to start getting just a little hopeful?
01:01:36He did mention he might take a few days' holiday. The post is no doubt slow from wherever he's gone.
01:01:42Yes, indeed.
01:01:43But there is something that appears to be from that interesting sister of his.
01:01:48Millie? How delightful.
01:01:51Missful.
01:01:54Excuse me.
01:01:55It's me?
01:02:21Norman is ill.
01:02:25I'm Beatrix Potter.
01:02:50Please come in, miss.
01:02:52Ah, Miss Potter.
01:02:57Hello.
01:02:59Please come.
01:03:02I came as soon as I heard.
01:03:04Yes, it's very kind of you.
01:03:05Very, very kind indeed.
01:03:08How is he?
01:03:11Beatrix.
01:03:15Millie.
01:03:16Oh, we need you to go.
01:03:18Millie?
01:03:19I'm too late.
01:03:27I'm too late.
01:03:27He was so happy.
01:03:41He sang songs.
01:03:43He made me dance with him in the parlour.
01:03:45Oh.
01:03:46He laughed all the time.
01:03:48Everyone noticed the change.
01:03:49And only I knew the reason.
01:03:50But all summer, he had a cough.
01:03:56And then the cough got worse.
01:03:58Thinking that it hasn't happened, I keep expecting to see him in the garden.
01:04:04Well, when's the funeral?
01:04:07It was yesterday.
01:04:10It was only the immediate family and Anna.
01:04:12Well, I couldn't think of a reason to ask them to delay it for you.
01:04:15It was considerate of you to come and pay your respects, Miss Potter.
01:04:25Our mother is particularly moved and is sorry she isn't well enough to come down to greet you.
01:04:30I'll be taking over our late brother's business affairs, Miss Potter.
01:04:35Fine.
01:04:36I want to assure you that F. Warn and company will do everything in its power
01:04:40to ensure that our tragic loss causes you the least possible inconvenience.
01:04:46Please accept the gratitude of the entire family.
01:05:00They want me to go.
01:05:02I'm sorry.
01:05:03I'm sorry.
01:05:06Miss Beatrix, what are you doing in London?
01:05:28Is something wrong?
01:05:29A friend died.
01:05:30I'm sorry, Miss.
01:05:32Was she a close friend?
01:05:36I'm sorry.
01:05:50I'm sorry, Miss.
01:05:55Oh, my God.
01:05:56Oh, my God.
01:06:04Miss Beatrix. Miss Beatrix. I'll leave you dinner outside the door then miss.
01:06:34Saunders is here Miss Potter to take you to the station. I shan't be going back to the
01:06:46lakes. Can I get you anything then? Nothing Hilda. Very well Miss Potter.
01:07:04I don't know.
01:07:34Oh, my God.
01:08:04Oh, my God.
01:08:35Beatrix, it's Millie.
01:08:40Look, I know I'm unannounced, but they sent back all my messages.
01:08:45Please, please, please let me in.
01:08:46Oh, my God.
01:09:16Go and find something to wear.
01:09:20I can't.
01:09:26Millie!
01:09:28I can't.
01:09:29I've been torturing myself.
01:09:45I should never have encouraged you with no one.
01:09:49I'd have saved you all this terrible grief.
01:09:51But I loved him.
01:09:53I loved him, too.
01:09:59But he's gone.
01:10:06I must leave this house.
01:10:08I want to leave this house.
01:10:14Congratulations, Miss Potter.
01:10:36You are now the proud owner of Hilltop Farm.
01:10:39Thank you, George.
01:10:42Well, I'm sure you'll be very happy at Hilltop.
01:10:44I spent some time there as a child.
01:10:46Is that so?
01:10:47Oh, I did have other plans for it, but I'm sure that I will love it in any case.
01:10:54Yes.
01:10:55If you need any other assistance or help.
01:10:57Thank you very much, Mr. Heavis.
01:10:59Good day.
01:11:00Good day, Miss Potter.
01:11:09You all right?
01:11:16What I don't understand, Beatrix, is how you're going to pay for this farm.
01:11:20I'm a writer, Mother.
01:11:22People buy my work.
01:11:23Our daughter is famous, Helen.
01:11:25You're the only person who doesn't know it.
01:11:33What I don't understand is why you find it necessary to leave your home.
01:11:37It is not a choice, Father.
01:11:40Beatrix, if I could undo anything...
01:11:43There's nothing to undo.
01:11:45This has nothing to do with you or Mother.
01:11:47I must make my own way.
01:11:53So you must.
01:11:56So you must.
01:12:17Everybody out.
01:12:27You see?
01:12:29I told you we could not know where our journey would lead.
01:12:32It has led us here.
01:12:35This is your new home.
01:12:36No tears.
01:12:48No tears.
01:12:48No tears.
01:13:06No tears.
01:13:20No tears.
01:13:20No tears.
01:13:25No tears.
01:13:25No tears.
01:14:26Miss?
01:14:36Millie.
01:14:40It's wonderful to see you.
01:14:46Oh, this place is perfect.
01:14:50Millie.
01:14:52What have you brought?
01:14:54Oh, well, I thought it best not to bring this, but then it jumped into my hand as I walked out the door.
01:15:00I'm sorry.
01:15:20It's getting easier.
01:15:26It's getting easier for me too.
01:15:30Good.
01:15:32I'm painting again.
01:15:34My mind's going mad with the story.
01:15:36I've got pigs running amok up there.
01:15:38Well, it's this place, isn't it?
01:15:42Who'd want to be cooped up in London when they could be up here?
01:15:46So glad you came.
01:15:48Me too.
01:15:50I've been so lucky with visitors.
01:15:53First my brother Bertram, then my mother.
01:15:56You think that's lucky?
01:15:57Your mother is a monster.
01:15:58No, it's fine.
01:16:00My mother and I have come to an understanding.
01:16:02We've agreed to not understand each other.
01:16:06But I'm so lucky.
01:16:30and then pay me and my lads good money to knock the damn place out of the land.
01:16:40Let him build what he likes.
01:16:43If we allow these city developers to buy up our land, there'll be no more farming.
01:16:48And all you're left with is a ruined landscape and no community.
01:16:57Miss Potter!
01:16:59Ah, Mr. Healers!
01:17:01I see you've found me.
01:17:05I played here so often as a child.
01:17:08I know your farm very well.
01:17:10Oh.
01:17:11Swam in the stream, played hide-and-seek in the woods with Cousin Charles.
01:17:16I brought you the executed deed for the farm.
01:17:18At last. Thank you very much, Mr. Healers.
01:17:21Busy?
01:17:22Yes. Yes, I've asked Mr. Cannon to stay on and run Hilltop as a working farm.
01:17:28I'm learning a great deal.
01:17:30I wish everyone who bought land up here could be so...enlightened.
01:17:35You've bought a farm, you've kept the workers on, you're working the land and you're preserving this place.
01:17:40Yes.
01:17:41Makes me happy.
01:17:43Mr. Cannon says the two farms adjoining mine are for sale.
01:17:48I'd hate to see the developers get hold of them.
01:17:50Do you know anything about them?
01:17:52Morning, Mr. Cannon.
01:17:53Miss Potter.
01:17:54Why, they've grown.
01:17:55Handsome lot, wouldn't you say?
01:17:56Yes.
01:17:57Have you named them?
01:17:58We don't often give them names, Miss Potter.
01:17:59Makes it a bit hard come slaughtering time.
01:18:00Hello, Miss Potter.
01:18:01Hello yourself, Mr. Healers.
01:18:02To what do I owe this pleasure?
01:18:03I've come with a message.
01:18:04Mr. Hubbard is ill and will be unable to show you the neighbouring farms today.
01:18:05Oh, dear.
01:18:06It's not serious, I hope.
01:18:07Chronic illness, I'm afraid.
01:18:08It occurs several times a month.
01:18:09Usually after a night at the Rosen Crown.
01:18:10I see.
01:18:11Mr. Hubbard, one day, you've got to see the people you've got to see.
01:18:12What do you call them?
01:18:13Do you name them?
01:18:14We don't often give them names, Miss Potter.
01:18:15We don't often give them names, Miss Potter.
01:18:16Makes it a bit hard come slaughtering time.
01:18:17Hello, Miss Potter.
01:18:18Hello, Miss Potter.
01:18:19Hello yourself, Mr. Healers.
01:18:20To what do I owe this pleasure?
01:18:21I've come with a message.
01:18:22Mr. Hubbard is ill and will be unable to show you the neighbouring farms today.
01:18:25Oh, dear.
01:18:26It's not serious, I hope?
01:18:27Chronic illness, I'm afraid.
01:18:28It occurs several times a month.
01:18:30Usually after a night at the Rosen Crown.
01:18:33I see.
01:18:35Mr. Hubbard wondered if I might show you the properties instead.
01:18:39I'd be pleased to have so knowledgeable a guide.
01:18:43I'll just get my shawl.
01:18:45Well, it's prime land.
01:18:47There's a lot of profit in building houses on it.
01:18:50Ah, but more value as a working farm, surely.
01:18:52Spoken like a true Lakes woman, Miss Potter.
01:18:55Indeed, Mr. Healers.
01:18:56You do realise I've never been to an auction?
01:18:58Well, it's simple enough.
01:19:00Don't bid too early and stick to your limit.
01:19:03I know my limit, Mr. Healers.
01:19:06Craven's Mill Farm.
01:19:0840 acres of splendour.
01:19:10£1,100 anywhere.
01:19:12£1,100 I bid.
01:19:14£1,150.
01:19:16Come along, gentlemen.
01:19:17A splendid little farm, this.
01:19:19Lots of development potential.
01:19:20£1,150.
01:19:22£1,200 anywhere.
01:19:24£1,200.
01:19:25£1,300 anywhere.
01:19:27Bidding, madam, £1,300.
01:19:29Seated at £1,300.
01:19:31£1,400.
01:19:33£1,500.
01:19:35£1,600.
01:19:37£700.
01:19:38£800.
01:19:39£1,900.
01:19:41At £1,000, £2,000.
01:19:44At the back, £2,000.
01:19:46Any more?
01:19:47At £2,000.
01:19:49£2,300.
01:19:50£2,300.
01:19:51Rich bastard.
01:19:52Thank you, sir.
01:19:53£2,300.
01:19:55At £2,300.
01:19:57Any more, then?
01:19:59At £2,300.
01:20:01£2,500.
01:20:03The lady at £2,500.
01:20:05Against you, sir.
01:20:06At £2,500.
01:20:07At £2,500.
01:20:08At £2,800.
01:20:09Miss Potter, you bid more than that farm is worth.
01:20:11£2,800.
01:20:12£3,000.
01:20:13At £3,000.
01:20:14At £3,000.
01:20:15Seated with the lady.
01:20:17Against you, sir.
01:20:18Are we all done?
01:20:19At £3,000.
01:20:21Going once.
01:20:22Going twice.
01:20:24Sold to the lady.
01:20:26£3,000.
01:20:27Sir, you should control your client.
01:20:32She has allowed her emotions to get the better of her.
01:20:35Really?
01:20:36She has squandered any possibility of profit from that farm.
01:20:39It was prime development land.
01:20:41This place, this community, is an inspiration.
01:20:43It should be conserved for future generations and not destroyed.
01:20:47It deserves protection.
01:20:48Madam, your observations are woefully inadequate.
01:20:51Please, sir.
01:20:52I am no longer in the habit of being lectured to.
01:20:54And, thankfully, I do not require your approval.
01:20:57Or anyone else's.
01:20:58So, if you'll excuse us, Mr. Helis.
01:21:10I hope you're not going to make a habit of this, Miss Potter.
01:21:13Do you know, Mr. Helis, I think I might.
01:21:16Now, will you have time tomorrow to show me those other farms?
01:21:20I certainly will.
01:21:21Excellent.
01:21:24Come in.
01:21:38Ah!
01:21:39Oh, my.
01:21:41Goodness me.
01:21:42I'll be just a moment.
01:21:45Now then, young man.
01:22:11Who are you taking to your new home?
01:22:13Hmm. I know it's not London.
01:22:16But Hilltop might suit a young rabbit better.
01:22:21He seems to be taken to the place.
01:22:23As am I, Mr. Helis.
01:22:26Now, the road.
01:22:28Oh, yes, yes, of course.
01:22:31How would you feel about calling me William instead of this infernal Mr. Helis?
01:22:38You sound like an undertaker.
01:22:40Of course, William.
01:22:41And I believe Beatrix might be perfectly appropriate as well.
01:22:46There's something delicious about writing those first few words of a story.
01:23:08You can never quite tell where they'll take you.
01:23:14Mine took me here.
01:23:16Where I belong.
01:23:17Oh, my gosh, I see you, I see you now.
01:27:26To beguile and to entrance for that night you cast your spell and you told me how to dance.
01:27:44And you told me how to dance.
01:27:52And you told me how to dance.
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