The Tale of Hill Top Farm

“A perfectly charming cozy, as full of English country loam, leaf, and lamb as could be desired . . . as full of pinched schoolmistresses, vicar’s widows, and goodhearted volunteers as any Barbara Pym novel.”
—Booklist

“There is a historical essence to the tale . . . fans feel they are in a quaint English village, circa 1905 ... Fabulous.”

—Midwest Book Review

“Beatrix Potter fans will welcome the talented Susan Wittig Albert . . . similar to [the works] of Rita Mae Brown.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Endearing . . . The English country village resonates with charm and humor, and sleuth Beatrix positively shines.”

—School Library Journal

Don’t miss the new Cottage Tale of Beatrix Potter,
THETALEOFHOLLYHOW

Praise for Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles Novels

“Albert’s characters are as real and as quirky as your next-door neighbor.”
—Raleigh News & Observer

“[Albert] improves with each successive book . . . artful”

—Austin American-Statesman

“Albert’s dialogue and characterizations put her in a class with lady sleuths V.I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”

—Publishers Weekly

“The denizens of Pecan Springs are sympathetic and insightful, grand livers with flinty wit—a combination of the residents of Lake Wobegon and the Texas villages in Larry McMurtry’s novels. Albert’s writing and outlook suggest Molly Ivins, while China’s independence and sunbelt sleuthing will appeal to readers of Earlene Fowler’s Benni Harper series and Allana Martin’s Texana Jones novels.”

—Booklist

“A marvelous addition to the ranks of amateur detectives.”

—Linda Grant

China Bayles mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

THYME OF DEATH
WITCHES’ BANE
HANGMAN’S ROOT
ROSEMARY REMEMBERED
RUEFUL DEATH
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
CHILE DEATH
LAVENDER LIES
MISTLETOE MAN
BLOODROOT
INDIGO DYING
AN UNTHYMELY DEATH
A DILLY OF A DEATH
DEAD MAN’S BONES

With her husband, Bill Albert, writing as Robin Paige

DEATH AT BISHOP’S KEEP
DEATH AT GALLOWS GREEN
DEATH AT DAISY’S FOLLY
DEATH AT DEVIL’S BRIDGE
DEATH AT ROTTINGDEAN
DEATH AT WHITECHAPEL
DEATH AT EPSOM DOWNS
DEATH AT DARTMOOR
DEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE
DEATH IN HYDE PARK
DEATH AT BLENHEIM PALACE

Beatrix Potter Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM
THE TALE OF HOLLY HOW

Nonfiction books by Susan Wittig Albert

WRITING FROM LIFE
WORK OF HER OWN

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
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(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,
South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

Frederick Warne & Co is the sole and exclusive owner of the entire rights titles and interest in and to the copyrights and trademarks of Beatrix Potter, including all names and characters featured therein. No reproduction of these copyrights and trademarks may be made without the prior consent of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN : 978-0-425-20101-5

BERKLEY ® PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
The name BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the BERKLEY PRIME CRIME design
are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

http://us.penguingroup.com

Acknowledgments

I am especially grateful to the many people whose biographical research into the life of Beatrix Potter has made this fiction possible; their names and the titles of their studies are listed in the Resources section at the end of the book. Special thanks go to Dr. Linda Lear, Senior Research Scholar in History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, whose eagerly awaited biography of Beatrix Potter will be published in 2006. Dr. Lear read and commented on this book; she helped to confirm the accuracy of the background research but, even more importantly, to affirm the validity of this fictional approach to Beatrix Potter’s life. Thanks also go to Liz Hunter, House and Collections Manager, Hawkshead and Beatrix Potter Properties, National Trust; and to Peter Tasker, the gardener at Hill Top.

I continue to be grateful to my editor, Natalee Rosenstein, whose wit and humor enliven all our interactions, and whose patience I especially appreciate. And of course, to my husband, Bill Albert, for his careful research, his constructive criticism, and his attentive reading.

Susan Wittig Albert

To Judy Taylor,
with grateful appreciation for
her studies of the life and work of Beatrix Potter

Author’s Note

This book and others that follow in the Cottage Tales series trace the arc of Beatrix Potter’s life from 1905, when she purchased Hill Top Farm in the village of Sawrey, through 1913, when she married William Heelis and went to Sawrey to live. If you have visited the Lake District of England, you may recognize the names of villages, towns, lakes, woods, and even actual houses, for I have chosen many of these lovely and very real places as settings for these books. But with the exception of Beatrix, her family, her friends, and her animal companions, the characters and their stories are entirely imaginary. The “real” people are noted with an asterisk in the Cast of Characters; all others appearing in this book are flights of the author’s fancy.

Susan Wittig Albert
Bertram, Texas, 2003

Cast of Characters
(* indicates an actual person or creature)

Beatrix Potter
*, children’s author and illustrator, has recently purchased Hill Top Farm. She has brought her animals to Sawrey for this visit:
Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
*,
Josey and Mopsy Rabbit
*, and
Tom Thumb Mouse
*.

Dimity Woodcock
and
Captain Miles Woodcock
live in Tower Bank House, a large house overlooking the road to Hawkshead. Dimity, who always has something good to say about everyone, volunteers for parish activities; her brother Miles is Justice of the Peace for Sawrey District.
Elsa Grape
keeps house and cooks for the Woodcocks.

Abigail Tolliver,
recently deceased, lived in Anvil Cottage, with
Tabitha Twitchit
*, the senior village cat. Miss Tolliver’s nephew,
Henry Roberts,
a draper from Kendal, expects to inherit her estate, and employs a house agent,
Mr. Oscar Spry,
to sell Anvil Cottage.
Sarah Barwick,
from Manchester, has a certain mysterious connection to Miss Tolliver.

Mathilda Crook
boards guests in her home, Belle Green, at the top of Market Street. Mathilda’s husband,
George Crook,
who has a cranky temperament, owns and operates the village forge. He has a Jack Russell terrier named
Rascal. Charlie Hotchkiss
(George’s helper at the forge) and
Edward Horsley
room with the Crooks. Beatrix Potter also stays here during her 1905 visit to Sawrey.

Grace Lythecoe
is the widow of the former vicar. She lives in Rose Cottage and plays an important role in village affairs.

Lucy Skead
is the village postmistress; her husband
Joseph Skead
is sexton at St. Peter’s. Lucy’s elderly mother,
Dolly Dorking
(reputed to be a witch) lives with them in Low Green Gate, which is also the village post office.

John Jennings
farms Hill Top Farm, his wife
Becky
manages the dairy. They have two children,
Sammy
and
Clara,
and a cat named
Miss Felicia Frummety
.

Myrtle Crabbe,
the teacher of the junior class and the headmistress of Sawrey School, lives in Castle Cottage. Her two younger sisters also live here:
Pansy Crabbe
(who gives piano lessons and leads the Sawrey Choral Society) and
Viola Crabbe
(who gives dramatic readings). Their cat
Max the Manx
lives with them.

Margaret Nash
teaches the infants class at Sawrey School, and lives with her sister Annie in Sunnyside Cottage.

Bertha
and
Henry Stubbs
live in the left-hand cottage in the row of Lakefield Cottages. Bertha cleans Sawrey School; Henry is a ferryman. Bertha has a gray tabby cat named
Crumpet.

Jeremy Crosfield
and his aunt
Jane Crosfield
live in picturesque Willow Cottage, on Cunsey Beck. Jeremy is in Miss Crabbe’s junior class at Sawrey School; Miss Crosfield is a spinner and weaver.

Rose Sutton,
wife of
Desmond Sutton,
the veterinarian, lives in Courier Cottage.

Roger Dowling
and his nephew
David Dowling
do light carpentry work in the joinery, just up Market Street from Meadowcroft Cottage, where Roger lives with his wife
Lydia
. Meadowcroft is also the village shop, which is operated by Lydia and will later become famous as the Ginger & Pickles Shop in one of Beatrix Potter’s books.

Vicar Samuel Sackett
is the vicar of St. Peter’s Church in Far Sawrey, and lives at the Vicarage.
Mrs. Thompson
keeps house for him.

Dr. Butters,
a much-loved physician, lives in Hawkshead and cares for all the people in the vicinity.

Lawrence Ransom
owns an art gallery in Ambleside.

Louie and Sophie Armitt
*, friends of Beatrix, live in Rydal Cottage, Ambleside. Later in her life, Beatrix donated her botanical drawings, as well as her father’s books, to the library established by the Armitt sisters in Ambleside.

William (Willie) Heelis
* is a solicitor with an office in Hawkshead.

Galileo Newton Owl, D.Phil.,
is a tawny owl who lives in Cuckoo Brow Woods. He studies celestial mechanics and the habits of small furry creatures, and makes it his business to know everything that goes on in the neighborhood of Sawrey.

Ridley Rattail
is a country-gentleman rat who gets involved with
Roger-Dodger
and
Newgate Jack,
a pair of bad rats from London who want to cheat him out of his money.

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