Jean Lang was born in Dongara and educated at the Perth Modern School and the Claremont School of Art. For the nineteen years prior to her retirement she was Head of the Art Department at the Methodist Ladies College. She wrote many essays, mainly on local history, art and music, and she also wrote and illustrated a number of books, including children's books and poetry collections.

Lang has been a prominent member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Western Australia Section) since 1938 and was made an Honorary Life Member in 1983. In 1991, she was the Western Australian Citizen of the Year for arts, culture and entertainment, and in the same year she was awarded the inaugural Life Membership of the Western Australian Branch of the Society of Women Writers.

As well as the works recorded here, Lang has also written several works of Western Australian local history, including Early Days, Prospect Hill : A Short History of the Griggs, a Pioneer Family [1973], A Living Tradition : A History of Methodist Ladies' College, Claremont, Western Australia, a College of the Uniting Church (1980), The Open Door : A History of Loving Care for Families, House of Mercy, Alexandra Home, Ngal-a, 1890-1980 (1980), and Chalice of Love : The Life and Times of Dorothy Genders (MBE) (1997). Her short stories, graphics and poems have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies.