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
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
.
Early life
Rachel Fowler was born in 1872 in
Weymouth, Dorset
Weymouth ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Dorset (district), Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, Dorset, River Wey, south of the county town of ...
,
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. She received her advanced education at
Westfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...
and then at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
where she studied modern languages.
Career
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
John Gower (; c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works—the ''Mirour de l'Omme'', ''Vox ...
's poetry.
["The French Works: ''Mirour de l'Omme''" by Craig E. Bertolet in ]
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.
Death and legacy
Fowler died by suicide in 1951;
She was last seen on 21 September and her body was found the next day in
Culham, Berkshire.
[''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995''] Her papers are held by Queen Mary Archives.
Guide to Archives.
Queen Mary University of London. Retrieved 30 June 2018. She was the subject of a biographical monograph by Genevieve O. Davidson in 1952.
Selected publications
* ''Une Source Française des Poèmes de Gower''. Macon, 1905.
References
Further reading
*Davidson, Genevieve O. (1952) ''Rachel Elfreda Fowler''. C. Tinling
1872 births
1951 suicides
1951 deaths
Date of death unknown
20th-century English women
British women art historians
University of Paris alumni
People from Weymouth, Dorset
Academics of the University of Oxford
Daughters of baronets
British expatriates in France
Suicides in the United Kingdom
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