Ruth K. MacDonald, Professor of English at New Mexico State University and author of "Beatrix Potter" points out that although Potter regarded the lives of her father and his friends as comical and even beneath notice, yet she clearly respected and valued their outdoor pursuits from the bemused treatment she accorded them in "Jeremy Fisher". She valued nature untouched by humans even more, MacDonald notes, as evidenced by the careful observation in the illustrations. "Jeremy Fisher" was written without the many revisions typical of Potter's other productions, and the pictures appear effortless in their execution. MacDonald writes, "Her ability to show human society without also implying its damaging effects on flora and fauna further underscores the book's felicitous composition and success".