'New Perspectives on Beatrix Potter' with Dr Penny Bradshaw

In this illustrated talk, Penny Bradshaw reflects on how reading across Beatrix Potter’s writings – from her early journals to books and essays published at the end of her career – offers new perspectives on this popular children’s author, revealing both fresh angles on familiar Potter themes and topics, as well as casting light on more uncharted corners of her imagination.  Penny reads Potter’s work against the backdrop of a momentous 70-year period of British history and explores some of the key themes and concerns which emerge, including a sustained and perceptive engagement with the natural environment.

Dr Penny Bradshaw is Associate Professor of Literature at the University of Cumbria and The A-Z of Beatrix Potter has just won the Wordsworth Prize for Poetry and Fiction at the Lakeland Book of the Year Awards and was runner up as Lakeland Book of the Year 2026.