Her father was a senior officer of the War Damage Commission and agent of the Order of the British Empire.

As a child she learned Welsh in addition to English, and grew up in South Devon.

She studied philosophy, Latin, French and German at Leicester University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Letters from St. Anne's College.

She learned to play the violin, the guitar, the harpsichord, the piano and the harp.

Her works include Mit tausend Küssen Deine Fillu: Briefe der Sängerin Marie Fillunger an Eugenie Schumann (With a Thousand Kisses, Your Fillu: Letters from the Singer Marie Fillunger to Eugenie Schumann 1875-93.