Kerslake attended St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, West London.
[5][1] She pursued her DPhil at St Anne's College, Oxford from 1968, preparing a critical edition and translation of the first part of the history of Ottoman sultan Selim I's reign (1512–20) written by the retired head of chancery (nişancı) Celalzade Mustafa Çelebi (de) (1490/1–1567).
She translated Aysel Özakın's 1980 novel Genç Kız ve Ölüm into English (The Prizegiving, The Women's Press, 1988).
[3] She lived in Chipping Norton[12] and served as the membership secretary of the Green Party's West Oxfordshire branch.
[11] She kept an active interest in Turkish politics and culture,[13][5][1] and spent much of her time in Turkey with her partner for over 50 years, Gülen (d.