Rachel Trickett

Mabel Rachel Trickett (20 December 1923 – 24 June 1999), known as Rachel Trickett,^[2] was an English novelist, non‑fiction writer, literary scholar, and a British academic; she was Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford, for nearly twenty years, between 1973 and 1991.

Rachel Trickett
Born	(1923-12-20)20 December 1923
Died	24 June 1999(1999-06-24) (aged 75) Oxford, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	academic
Known for	non-fiction writer
Honours	Warton Lecture (1971)[1]

Early life and education

Trickett's father was a postman.^[3] She studied 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 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 gilded wrought iron Swan gates, which are now by the Principal's house on Canterbury Road.^[3]

Other work

Trickett was the author of the novels The Return Home (London, Constable & Co., 1952) and 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.

Michael Gearin-Tosh wrote in her obituary for The Independent 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.