 First edition cover | |
| Author | Beatrix Potter |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Beatrix Potter |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Frederick Warne & Co. |
Publication date | July 1906 |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Preceded by | The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan |
| Followed by | The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit |
| Text | The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher at Wikisource |
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in July 1906. Jeremy's origin lies in a letter she wrote to a child in 1893. She revised it in 1906, and moved its setting from the River Tay to the English Lake District. The tale reflects her love for the Lake District and her admiration for children's illustrator Randolph Caldecott.
Jeremy Fisher is a frog that lives in a "slippy-sloppy" house at the edge of a pond. During one rainy day, he collects worms for fishing and sets off across the pond on his lily-pad boat. He plans to invite his friends for dinner if he catches more than five minnows. He encounters all sorts of setbacks to his goal, and escapes a large trout who tries to swallow him. He swims for shore, decides he will not go fishing again, and hops home.
Potter's tale pays homage to the leisurely summers her father and his companions passed sport fishing at rented country estates in Scotland. Following the tale's publication, a child fan wrote to Potter suggesting Jeremy find a wife. Potter responded with a series of miniature letters on the theme as if from Jeremy and his pals. Following Potter's death in 1943, licences were issued to various firms to produce the Potter characters. Jeremy and his friends were released as porcelain figurines, plush toys, and other merchandise.