Rhys was born to a Welsh father and a white Creole mother. In 1907 Rhys left her Caribbean island home to live in England with her aunt. In 1919 Rhys married. In 1927 her first collection of short stories "The Left Bank and Other Stories" was published by Jonathan Cape (London). Her first novel was published in 1928. That year she moved to London. She married her agent in 1934.