Barbara Ireson grew up on the South Coast, took a degree in Economics at Nottingham, and then worked in Paris at the British Embassy and UNESCO. She married a university lecturer, and his career took her to several university towns, where she become intensely interested in conservation and the restoration of old buildings. Her three children have inherited this enthusiasm, and her two sons run an antiques business at Tours in France. She and her husband also live in Tours, and she is able to lend a hand in the business whilst continuing with her own writing.
She is particularly well known for her work on children's anthologies, both poetry and prose, and she has edited a number of highly praised and popular collections.