[4] Pattullo was born in London, England, and during her early childhood lived with her family at the boys' preparatory school in Richmond where her father was headmaster.
"[5] After attending school in London, Pattullo went on to study politics at the University of Edinburgh, where her concerns and thinking broadened to include class, race and feminism.
Reviewing the latter in the Times Higher Education, James Ferguson stated: "Polly Pattullo's lucid account makes clear the Montserrat volcano affair cast unexpected light into one of the dustier recesses of British foreign policy.... Pattullo tells this story of separation and loss with an admirable blend of political objectivity and personal sympathy.
"[10] Pattullo's particular connection with Dominica goes back to her first trip there in 1984, when she did interviews with the writer Phyllis Shand Allfrey[11] as well as with the then Prime Minister Eugenia Charles for The Observer Magazine.
[12][13] From 1988 to 1990, Pattullo ran Traveller's Tree, an initiative that organised ecotourism tours of Dominica,[7] and in 1998 she undertook a round-island walk, completing it in 14 days.
[19] Notable authors include Phyllis Shand Allfrey, Lisa Allen-Agostini,[20] Trish Cooke, Jane Ulysses Grell, Lennox Honychurch, Stephenson Hyacinth, Diana McCaulay,[21] Kathy MacLean, Philip Nanton, Elma Napier, Viviana Prado-Núñez,[22] Lawrence Scott,[23][24] Joanne Skerrett, Celia Sorhaindo, and others.