What is the author's tone in the biography, The Tale of Beatrix Potter?

Lane's tone reflects that of a seasoned writer analyzing her heroes. A deep admiration for Potter pervades the text, with Lane rarely criticizing Potter's life or works. Instead, she seems to empathize with nearly all of Potter's decisions at least until Potter married. The book is well-known for its lyrical and colorful descriptions of Potter in the North English countryside as a child, lush descriptions of her artwork, and fawning depictions of Potter's characters. Further, the book contains beautiful passages describing Potter's walks through her farm lands later in life and her care for the Herdwick sheep.

In Chapter 6, the tone becomes particularly positive yet more academic as Lane gives her analysis of the features of Potter's personality that made her such a wonderful writer and illustrator, but it turns critical in Chapter 7. In Chapter 7, Lane discusses the publication of The Fairy Caravan and others books after Beatrix married. They were cobbled together from Beatrix's unused ideas from her golden decade of publishing, and Lane argues that as a result the works are poor. She gives frank assessments of the books, often describing them as dull or failures. She seems disappointed that Beatrix decided to publish them without making them better. But the book ends in continued admiration, but not only for Beatrix's writings but for her conservationism and indomitable spirit in old age.