Jennette Barbour Perry Lee was born on November 10, 1861, in New England, where she would spend many years of her life. She was admitted to Smith College in April of 1883, and after graduation in 1886 worked as an instructor at the Grant Collegiate Institute in Chicago, where she taught Philosophy, Rhetoric and Composition. Later, she taught at the Wheaton Academy, Vassar, and Western Reserve. In 1886, she married Gerald Stanley Lee, a pastor, author, editor and lecturer. In 1901, she returned to Smith as an instructor, and in 1904 was officially appointed as an Associate Professor in English. She was a member of the faculty until 1913, teaching popular courses in Appreciation and Criticism. She was a member of the Hosts of Philistia, also known as the American Academy of Immortals. In her later years, she gave up her academic career for a very successful writing career. She died on October 16, 1951.