The Beatrix Code

Dear reader, do you ever keep secrets? I did, and I believe that as long as they aren't the sort that are hurtful, they can be quite fun!

One secret I kept for years and years, even from my friends, was that I developed my own code or written language- and I was the only one who could read it (though an enterprising fan years later learned how to decipher it by recognizing a reference to King Louis XVI of France)!

I wrote my journals in my secret code. My code consisted of our regular letters and others inspired by German and Greek letters. For example, a "t" stood for "l" and "k" for "e."

When I learned that the 17th century Parliamentarian Samuel Pepys (pronounced "Pips") had developed his own code to write in his diary, I decided to take on a similar endeavor myself. Pepys (isn't that name fun to say?) was my inspiration, but does not answer the question of WHY I would do such an uncommon thing. Well, dear reader, I will tell you why- quite frankly I was bored, I desired the challenge, and my brain needed the exercise. You see, I did not go to school as my brother did (or even as you are now). Does that surprise you? Instead, I had governesses who lived with us and would teach me my lessons. And when I was too old for a governess as a teenager, I would educate myself by going to natural history and art museums (like the Victoria and Albert museum in London).

But in all honesty, "thank goodness my education was neglected... The reason I am glad I did not go to school- it would have rubbed off some of the originality (if I had not died of shyness or been killed with overpressure). I fancy I could have been taught anything if I had been caught young, but it was in the days when parents kept governesses, and only boys went to school in most families"

But please do not think, dear reader, especially you young ones who may or may not enjoy going to school, that I think school is a bad thing. Quite the contrary, learning about the world is an excellent pursuit and I did what I could without the help of being in a classroom.

Sources
Lane, Margaret. The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter. Frederick Warne Publishers: London, 1978, 30-32.

Potter, Beatrix. The Journal of Beatrix Potter, from 1881-1897. Translated by Leslie Linder. Frederick Warne Publishers: London, 1966 pp. xxiii-xxix.