The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse

Abstract

The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse is a picture book for young children by the English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. It was first published in July 1910. The character of Mrs. Tittlemouse was introduced in the 1909 book The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. In her own story, Mrs. Tittlemouse is revealed to be a very tidy wood mouse. Her determination to keep her house clean is put to the test by some untidy uninvited guests.

The story was first presented by Beatrix Potter as a hand-made gift book to Nellie Warne, the youngest daughter of her publisher Harold Warne. At Warne's insistence, Potter replaced some of the creatures encountered by Mrs. Tittlemouse for the published version: an earwig was changed to a beetle, woodlice became the "creepy-crawly people", and a butterfly was substituted for a centipede named Maggie Manylegs. The insects and the spider are notably not humanized but drawn from nature in Potter's illustrations.