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Rachel Trickett

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Rachel Trickett
Born(1923-12-20)20 December 1923
Died24 June 1999(1999-06-24) (aged 75)
Oxford, England
NationalityBritish
Occupationacademic
Known fornon-fiction writer
HonoursWarton Lecture (1971)[1]

Rachel Trickett (20 December 1923 – 24 June 1999) was an English novelist, non‑fiction writer, literary scholar, and a prominent British academic; she served as Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford, for nearly twenty years, between 1973 and 1991.

Education

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Trickett was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She became a lecturer in English at the University of Hull in 1946 and in 1954 she returned to Oxford as a fellow and tutor at St Hugh's College.

Principal of St. Hugh's College

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As Principal of St. Hugh's College, Trickett often showed a side of gaiety: on her instruction, the chapel at the college was redecorated in 18th-century colours.

The college chapel

Her friend Laurence Whistler designed the college's beautiful gilded wrought iron Swan gates, which can now be found by the Principal's house on Canterbury Road.[2]

Other work

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Trickett was the author of the novel The Return Home (London, Constable & Co., 1952), and of The Course of Love (London, Constable & Co., 1954). Her The Honest Muse: A Study in Augustan Verse was published by Clarendon Press, Oxford, in 1967.

It is said that "she had a wicked eye for the conceit of academics, their insularity and devious manipulations",[3] an attitude which made her a soul‑mate of Erich Heller.

Legacy

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The Rachel Trickett Building at St. Hugh's College is named in her honour.

References

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  1. ^ Trickett, Rachel (1973). "Browning's Lyricism" (PDF). Proceedings of the British Academy. 57: 65–83.
  2. ^ Bayley, John (8 July 1999). "Obituary: Rachel Trickett". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  3. ^ Michael Gearin-Tosh, 'Rachel Trickett', The Independent (London), June 30, 1999.

Bibliography

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Academic offices
Preceded by Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford
1973 to 1991
Succeeded by