Norman Warne

Norman Warne
Norman Warne and his nephew Fred, ca. 1900
Born
Norman Dalziel Warne

6 July 1868
Died25 August 1905
(age 37)
Bedford Square, London
Occupationpublisher

Norman Dalziel Warne (6 July 1868 – 25 August 1905) was the third son of publisher Frederick Warne, and joined his father's firm Frederick Warne & Co as an editor. In 1900, the company rejected Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, but eventually reconsidered and in October 1902, published the book to great success.[1] Norman Warne became Potter's editor and they worked together on several subsequent books and related merchandise, such as soft toys and The Game of Peter Rabbit.[1]

In 1904, Potter and Warne worked closely together to develop a tale about two mice and a doll's house. Potter began spending more time at the firm's offices and took several trips to Warne's home to sketch a doll's house he was constructing for his nieces. In July 1905 Warne proposed. Potter accepted, but on 25 August 1905, before a marriage could take place, Warne died suddenly of pernicious anaemia[2][3] Potter remained in touch with Warne's sister Millie for many years, and his brothers Harold and Fruing became her editors.[1] The relationship between Potter and Warne became the basis for the film Miss Potter (2006). In 2012, a decision to erect a plaque at Warne's former home in Bedford Square honouring his memory was turned down by English Heritage, presumably because of the lack of funding on English Heritage's part, as they have the funding to erect only twelve to fifteen plaques a year. A further attempt was also sadly turned down in 2024.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Hallinan, Camilla (2002). The Ultimate Peter Rabbit. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-0-7513-3746-4.
  2. ^ "Beatrix Potter Biography on BPotter.com". Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ^ "About Beatrix Potter". The Beatrix Potter Society. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  4. ^ Support for plaque to honour Beatrix Potter publisher Norman Warne from Camden New Journal dated 4 April 2012