The Secret Journal Beatrix Potter Could No Longer Read
Before Beatrix Potter became famous for Peter Rabbit, she kept a private journal in a cipher built from substituted letters, characters from several alphabets, and number shortcuts. She eventually became unable to read her own coded writing, and no key survived. Beginning in 1952, engineer and Potter scholar Leslie Linder spent six years deciphering it. A reference to Louis XVI and the year 1793 finally gave him the clue he needed. The recovered pages revealed Potter’s humour, daily observations, artistic development, scientific interests, and attachment to the Lake District. Even an American gingerbread recipe appeared among coded scraps later studied by the National Trust. The story offers a light reminder for today’s memory keepers: protect your privacy, but leave enough names, dates, explanations, and instructions for future readers to understand what you choose to preserve....