Mary Snell attended Saint Felix School, Southwold, Suffolk,[2] where she attained G.C.E.
She was awarded a State Scholarship to study English, French, German, and Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, where she obtained her M.A.
In 1966 she received the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews for her thesis The dramatic satire of Karl Kraus and Johann Nestroy.
She retired from her position in Vienna in 2008, but has remained active in the field of Translation Studies as guest lecturer, author and editor.
She was married 6 April 1973 to Anthony Hornby, lecturer in English at the Language Centre, University of Augsburg, Germany.