Bakewell was born in the seaside town of Bournemouth, England, where her parents ran a small hotel.

[1] When she was five, the family began travelling through India in a camper and continued to do so for two years before settling in Sydney, Australia.

[1] She embarked on a PhD on philosopher Martin Heidegger, but gave it up to move to London, where she initially found work at a tea-bag factory.

[4] The book received rave reviews, with The Guardian calling it a "superb, spirited introduction to the master.

[5] Bakewell inserted this personal angle into the work; The New York Times critic Janet Maslin wrote, "As someone who came back to this material by rereading it later in life, she has made her responses part of the story.