 Her father was writer J. D. Beresford, a successful novelist who also worked as a book reviewer for several newspapers.Her godparents included author Walter de la Mare (who dedicated several poems to her), poet Cecil Day-Lewis, and children's writer Eleanor Farjeon.Beresford enjoyed many literary connections; her parents' friends included H. G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, Hugh Walpole, W. Somerset Maugham, and D. H. Lawrence.