Margaret Moncrieff

(Helen) Margaret Moncrieff (6 February 1921 – 12 November 2008) was a Scottish cellist and author writing under the pseudonym Helen McClelland and writing novels in the Chalet School series.^[1]

Margaret Moncrieff
Born	Helen Margaret Moncrieff 6 February 1921 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	12 November 2008(2008-11-12) (aged 87)
Pen name	Helen McClelland
Occupation	Cellist, teacher, writer
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Royal College of Music
Spouse	Alexander Kelly ​ ​ (m. 1957; died 1996)​
Children	2, including Catriona Kelly
Relatives	Alexander Moncrieff, Lord Moncrieff (father) Helen McClelland Adams (mother)

Early life

Helen Margaret Moncrieff was born in 1921 in Edinburgh, Scotland, daughter of Alexander Moncrieff, Lord Moncrieff, and Helen, née McClelland Adams, formerly Spens.^[2][3]

In London, Moncrieff studied the cello at the Royal College of Music with Ivor James, and then in Paris, with Pierre Fournier.^[2] She went on to a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher.

Career

Moncrieff was a professor of cello at the Royal College of Music.^[3]

When Moncrieff was in her 60s, she became a writer.^[3] In 2003, Moncrieff wrote her memoir.

Personal life

In 1957, Moncrieff married Alexander Kelly (1929–1996) a pianist, composer, and later head of keyboard studies at the Royal Academy of Music.^[4] They had two children: cellist Alison Moncrieff Kelly, and Catriona Kelly, Professor of Russian at New College, Oxford.^[1]

Works

• 2001: Time and Again^[5]
• 2003: Worlds Apart: Memoirs of Margaret Moncrieff Kelly^[6]

Chalet School

Montcrieff's entries in the series include:^[7]

• Joey and Patricia: A Reunion in Guernsey (2000)
• Visitors to the Chalet School (2004)