Elizabeth (Beth) Duncan was born at Glenelg, South Australia, a descendant of emigrants who reached the colony in 1839. After completing her schooling in South Australia she worked on a Northern Territory cattle station as a governess for two years, before undertaking nursing training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Following the completion of a Diploma in Social Studies at the University of Adelaide she worked as a social worker in Adelaide, Darwin and Brisbane, later gaining her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Queensland. After returning to Adelaide, Beth and her architect husband lived and worked on a small farm in the Adelaide Hills, before retiring in 1989. Since then Beth has followed her interests in writing and history, completing the Advanced Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing) at Adelaide TAFE in 2003.