Rachel Trickett

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.

Rachel Trickett
Born	20 December 1923
Died	24 June 1999 (aged 75) Oxford, England
Nationality	United Kingdom
Occupation	academic
Known for	non-fiction writer

Education

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

As Principal of St. Hugh's College, Trickett often showed a side of gaeity: on her instruction, the chapel at the college was redecorated in 18th-century colours. 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.[1]

Other work

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",[2] an attitude which made her a soul‑mate of Erich Heller.

Legacy

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

References

1. Bayley, John (8 July 1999). "Obituary: Rachel Trickett". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
2. Michael Gearin-Tosh, 'Rachel Trickett', The Independent (London), June 30, 1999.

Bibliography

• Gearin-Tosh, Michael (2002) Living Proof: a medical mutiny. ISBN 0-7432-0677-0