 Her father was the banker Frederic Seebohm (created a life peer as Baron Seebohm in April 1972), while her great-grandfather was the economic historian, also called Frederic Seebohm.Her sister is Caroline Seebohm, the American biographer.Glendinning grew up near York and after attending Millfield School in Somerset, went up to Somerville College, Oxford to study modern languages.