Margaret Searle originally trained as a home economist and food chemist working for major food companies, where she successfully developed new recipes for production. She left work to have her first child, loving motherhood so much that she decided to be a home-maker rather than a working mum.
Whilst expecting her fourth child she began studying for her degree, majoring on English literature and the social study and history of Society, gaining her B.A. in 1992. She has been director of a property management company and run a successful genealogical research service.
She and her husband Keith live in East Sussex.