Philippa Pearce was the youngest of four children of a flour miller and corn merchant. The family lived in the flour mill, which stood on the upper reaches of the River Cam, in Great Shelford, south of Cambridge. The river ran beside the mill-house garden and then under the mill, which it partly powered. The village, the river, and the countryside in general provide the background setting for both Tom's Midnight Garden and Minnow on the Say. She went to school in Cambridge, and studied English and History at Cambridge University. After college she worked in the BBC, as a scriptwriter and producer, and then in publishing as an editor. Edith is an established and acclaimed French graphic novel creator. Her earliest ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote many books, winning the Carnegie Medal for Tom's Midnight Garden.

She was awarded an OBE for services to Children's Literature. She died in 2006.