Lady Rachel Simon was born in 1823, the fifth daughter of Alice (née Cowen) and Simeon Kensington Salaman.

[1][2] Her father was clothing supplier to the British Army and warden of the Western Synagogue,[3] and she was the sister of Annette, Charles, and Julia, and Rose Emma Salaman.

[6] Their daughter Zillah was born in 1844, the first of eight children, not long before the family immigrated to England when Rachel's health suffered in the tropical climate.

The book, with which Lady Simon sought "to remove some of the prevailing misconceptions in regard to [her] ancestral religion," was released in 1894 to favourable reviews.

[11] Her son Oswald John Simon (1855–1932) was a prominent communal worker and author, who served as member of the Council of the Anglo-Jewish Association from 1882 to 1911, and then as vice-president until his death.