Madelyn Palmer was born and educated in Adelaide. She hoped to be a concert pianist, but when her parents died prematurely she had to find some other way to earn her living. She started writing during World War II and had radio plays accepted by the ABC and commercial radio. She also played small character parts in two Australian films. She became secretary to one of Sydney's leading surgeons.
Palmer travelled widely both within Australia and on the continent; from the mid-1950s she worked as a freelance writer in England.
