Rachel Elfreda Fowler (10 December 1872 – 21/22 September 1951) was an English literary scholar and lecturer in art and history at the University of Oxford.

Early life

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Rachel Fowler was born in 1872 in Weymouth, Dorset,[1] the youngest daughter of Sir Robert Fowler (1828–1891), member of parliament and Lord Mayor of London, and his wife Sarah Charlotte Fowler, née Fox. Elfreda was one of eleven children.[2] She received her advanced education at Westfield College and then at the University of Oxford where she studied modern languages.[3]

Career

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Fowler completed her PhD at the University of Paris in 1905 on the subject of Une Source Française des Poèmes de Gower which discussed the sources for John Gower's poetry.[4]

She worked as a nurse in Paris for two years during the First World War and later lectured in art and history at the University of Oxford.[5]

Death and legacy

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Fowler died by suicide in 1951;[3] She was last seen on 21 September and her body was found the next day in Culham, Berkshire.[6][7] Her papers are held by Queen Mary Archives.[8] She was the subject of a biographical monograph by Genevieve O. Davidson in 1952. [9]

Selected publications

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  • Une Source Française des Poèmes de Gower. Macon, 1905.

References

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  1. ^ "Births". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 16 December 1872. p. 1.
  2. ^ Benson, R. Seymour. (1912) Photographic Pedigree of the Descendants of Isaac and Rachel Wilson 1740. Middlesbrough: William Appleyard. p. 207.
  3. ^ a b Malchow, Howard L. (1992). Gentlemen Capitalists: The Social and Political World of the Victorian Businessman. Stanford: Stanford University Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-8047-1807-3.
  4. ^ "The French Works: Mirour de l'Omme" by Craig E. Bertolet in Ana Saez-Hidalgo; Brian Gastle; R.F. Yeager. (2017). The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-317-04303-4.
  5. ^ FOWLER, Rachel Elfreda (fl 1872-1927). JISC Archives Hub. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Deaths". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 24 September 1951. p. 1.
  7. ^ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995
  8. ^ Guide to Archives. Queen Mary University of London. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  9. ^ Genevieve O. Davidson (1952). Rachel Elfreda Fowler, 1872-1951. C. Tinling.

Further reading

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  • Davidson, Genevieve O. (1952) Rachel Elfreda Fowler. C. Tinling