The Tale of Mr. Tod was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1912 and is Potter’s most unusual book — a story she prefaced with the note: “I am quite tired of making goody-goody books about nice people. I will make a story about two disagreeable people, called Tommy Brock and Mr. Tod.” Tommy Brock is a badger who has kidnapped Benjamin Bunny’s babies; Mr. Tod is a fox in whose house Brock has taken refuge with the infants.
The book is genuinely tense. The babies are in real danger. The illustrations — especially of Brock asleep in Tod’s bed with the babies in the oven — are unsettling in a way that no other Potter book achieves. The climax, in which Tod rigs a bucket of water above the sleeping Brock and the two antagonists fight each other while the rabbits escape, is Potter’s most action-packed sequence.
The Dark Side
Potter’s decision to write a story with “no nice person in it” was deliberate. She was tired of sentimentality and wanted to explore the predatory side of the natural world that her scientific training had taught her to respect. Tod (an old English word for fox) and Brock (an old English word for badger) are not anthropomorphised villains but animals acting according to their natures — which happens to include eating baby rabbits.
Collecting The Tale of Mr. Tod
First edition (Frederick Warne & Co., London, 1912): Gray-green boards with mounted color illustration.
Approximate market values:
- Fine: $1,500–$4,000
- Very good: $500–$1,500
Projected values (2026–2036): Steady appreciation. The book’s reputation as Potter’s most unusual and daring work gives it particular appeal to serious collectors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this too scary for young children? It is Potter’s most intense tale. The babies are in genuine danger, and the violence between Tod and Brock is real. Most children find it exciting rather than frightening, but it is notably darker than Peter Rabbit.