Upon leaving Poland, she exchanged diplomacy for academic studies and took a doctorate in the literature of the English Romantic Period at Oxford University. She then worked for Oxfam as a lobbyist on conflict issues, campaigning at the United Nations and with governments to lessen the impact of conflict on civilians living in war zones.
Golding lives in Oxford and works as a freelance writer. She is married with three children. The Diamond of Drury Lane is her first novel, the first of the Cat Royal series. Julia Golding has also written a series of four novels called The Companions Quartet, the first of which is Secret of the Sirens.