Pauline Smith was born in Oudtshoorn, in the Little Karoo, South Africa. Her beloved father, who was the first resident physician of the area, died when she was 16, after she had been sent to boarding school in Scotland. Memories of the landscape and people of the Little Karoo remained with her throughout her life, though she spent most of it from 1895 onward in Britain and Europe. She developed a close friendship with Arnold Bennett, who helped her establish herself as a writer, giving her guidance and encouragement, being infallible in his perception of her strong points as a writer.