[1] She lived in Kent for the greater part of her life, and according to Anne Stevens "found her subjects, and shapes in the rolling chalk downland, the lush wealden country and the shore line".
In 1940 she had first seen and been inspired by Farleigh's illustrations for D.H. Lawrence's The Man Who Died (1935), which led to the idea of studying under him.
Her close friend and fellow wood-engraver, George Mackley, published a book on her prints in 1994.
Further emotional scars followed with her elder sister's death at seven and her mother's suffering from tuberculosis.
An extended stay in Switzerland between 1929 and 1931 aided in her mother's recovery and left Monica dazzled by the mountainous country.