Grossmann was born in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia on 8 September 1863, to Mary Ann Beeby and George Smales Searle.
[2] The family moved to Melbourne[3] and then, in 1878, to Invercargill, where Searle became editor of The Southland Times newspaper.
The principal, Helen Connon, encouraged Grossmann to continue her studies to the end of secondary school, and to apply for a university scholarship.
[4] Grossmann studied at Canterbury College from 1880 to 1885, during which time she received a number of prizes and honours, and was also an active participant in student life.
[3] Grossmann found these clubs very useful for making contacts in the writing world, and advised other women to join them.
[2] This enforced separation from her son had a significant impact on Grossmann's mental health; she wrote a letter to the editor of the Auckland Star as late as 1929, in which she complained of the effects of separating the mentally ill from their loved ones.
[8] In 1999, the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors laid a trail of 32 plaques around Christchurch commemorating notable writers of the city, including Edith Grossmann.