Roberts was born in London to a Quaker family but grew up in the Gloucestershire countryside where she, as did her brother Oade, developed a passion for natural history. After the publication of books on conchology and botany, Roberts began to issue natural history works for both the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. These works, for both children and adults, often sought to emphasise the goodness of God through the wonders of the natural world. The books contained vibrant passages and lively descriptions but increasingly became reliant on Roberts' studies of museum exhibits, animals in menageries and the writings of others rather than her own observations.