She was educated in England, and in 1852 married Captain George Robert Barker of the Royal Artillery, with whom she had two children.

They remained there for three years;[2] they lost more than half their sheep in the winter of 1867, and in response Broome sold out and the couple returned to London.

Still calling herself "Lady Barker", Mary Anne Broome became a correspondent for The Times and published two books of verse: Poems from New Zealand (1868) and The Stranger from Seriphos (1869).

This last title led to her being appointed Lady Superintendent of the National Training School of Cooking in South Kensington.

Drawing on these experiences, Lady Barker published A Year's Housekeeping in South Africa (1877) and Letters to Guy (1885).