In the time of swords and periwigs and full-skirted coats with flowered lappets-when gentlemen wore ruffles, and gold-laced waistcoats of paduasoy and taffeta-there lived a tailor in Gloucester. He sat in the window of a little shop in Westgate Street, cross-legged on a table, from morning till dark. All day long while the light lasted he sewed and snippeted, piecing out his satin and pompadour, and lutestring; stuffs had strange names, and were very expensive in the days of the Tailor of Gloucester. Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, and natural scientist. Her imaginative children's books feature many natural animals that can be found in the British countryside. She is credited with preserving much of the land that now comprises the Lake District National Park. Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit story is among the most popular children's stories worldwide.