She was from January to June 1985 an exchange student with Rutgers University in New Jersey, thus giving her an excellent opportunity at the age of 19 to explore New York City.
After graduating from the University of Southampton, she became a journalist, working in production for the magazine Marie Claire, which launched its UK print edition in 1988.
After becoming Marie Claire's chief sub-editor and production editor, she resigned to pursue a career as a freelance journalist with a focus on the arts.
While working as a freelance journalist, she attended evening classes as part of a joint honours course offered by the English and history departments of Birkbeck College, University of London.
Her second book The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum (2008, The Bodley Head) was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize of the Royal Society of Literature.
[5][7] Wise was a guest on Radio 4's In Our Time to talk about Charles Booth's work related to poverty and social reform in London.