The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies sequels are the best known and most successful of Potter's books. The author had an affinity for rabbits; she lived with them as pets and observed them closely for years. Though she once wrote that rabbits were creatures of "warm volatile temperaments" and were "shallow and extremely transparent", she invested her rabbits with a variety of characterizations consistent with the nature of the animal. All the rabbit tales were inspired in part by Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories, which Potter began illustrating as early as 1893 in an attempt to find career direction and probably because they featured a
Romola Remus years in federal prison. During that time, his wife began an affair with Franklin Dodge, a government agent. Upon his release from prison, George Remus shot and killed his estranged wife. He was prosecuted for murder, but acquitted on the basis of temporary insanity. Romola Remus was at his side in the courtroom constantly during his trial, and took a job as a cabaret singer to help pay his legal bills. When George Remus was released from a brief stay at the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Lima, Ohio, Romola Remus said, "I am the happiest girl