Margery Kempe (c.1373–1438) was born in King's Lynn, a busy port in Norfolk, England. At the age of twenty, she was married to John Kempe. After the extremely difficult birth of her first child, Kempe feared she might die and made her confession to a priest who criticized her harshly for what she confessed. These traumatic events led to a mental breakdown, from which she recovered when she had the first of her visions. Kempe became extremely devout, claiming to have personal visions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Unlike other religious women of the time, who either entered convents or lived in reclusion, Kempe continued to live with her husband. She gave birth to fourteen children by the age of forty, at which time she took a vow of celibacy (to which her husband agreed) and began to make pilgrimages. Neighbors and fellow pilgrims criticized Kempe for her lifestyle and her loud, emotional displays, which included public sobbing and screaming. However, Kempe did win the support of some clergy and townspeople.

Like many women of her time, Kempe could neither read nor write. However, she had an extensive knowledge of the scriptures and other religious texts, having heard them from town clerics and traveling scholars. About the year 1433, Kempe dictated the two parts of her book to two different scribes; the second scribe, a priest, revised the entire text.