The tale of Samuel Whiskers, or, The roly-poly pudding - Beatrix Potter

It's been 110 years since Frederick Warne published Beatrix Potter's very first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and in celebration, we are delighted to be publishing special editions of her entire body of work. Unlike the traditional little white books, these editions have delightful colourful covers and specially designed endpapers. And to make them extra special, we have included a publisher's note to tell you all about the history of how each book came to be.

The first farm that Beatrix Potter owned, Hill Top, was an old house with thick walls and many hiding places for rats and mice. In The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, this farmhouse is Tom Kitten's home and the story tells what happens when Tom accidentally comes upon the rat Samuel Whiskers living in a secret hideout behind the attic walls.

The Tale of Samuel Whiskers is number 16 in Beatrix Potter's series of 23 little books.

Beatrix Potter is one of the world's best-loved children's authors of all time. From her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) she went on to create a series of stories based around animal characters including Mrs Tiggy-winkle, Mr Jeremy Fisher and Tom Kitten. Her humorous, lively tales and beautiful illustrations have become a natural part of childhood.

A source of inspiration was the Lake District where she lived for the last thirty years of her life as a farmer and conservationist.