1. Critics often like to identify the people and places that inspired Potter's books. Try to separate the "fact" from the "fiction" in some of her books using this biography as a reference. Why do you think she was so careful to copy things from "real life"?

2. The Potter household is an example of late Victorian family life. Using this biography as an example, describe the Victorian attitude toward children and women. How has this attitude changed?

3. Potter's grandparents were religious and political nonconformists. How was this radical heritage reflected in Potter's own life?

4. Describe the influence of two or three people (other than her parents) on Potter's life.

5. "I cannot rest," Beatrix Potter wrote in her secret journal. "I must draw, however poor the result ... I will do something sooner or later." She appears to have been a very determined...