Profile
Rachel Beckett is the versatile writer, illustrator and editor whose services are advertised on this site. She grew up in North Devon, where she developed a love of the English countryside and a deep awareness of her roots in traditional English life. Her broad interdisciplinary interests were nurtured at St John’s College, Cambridge, where she read Anglo Saxon Norse and Celtic, graduated in History of Art, and was awarded the Master’s Prize for an essay on Wordsworth’s Ode on the Intimations of Immortality.
She subsequently held a number of editorial posts, contributing to a wide range of non-fiction and reference books, including the Shire Albums series, the Macmillan Dictionary of Art and a children’s encyclopedia published by Larousse. More recently she wrote the Medieval volume of a children’s art reference work, published in 2008. Her experience also extends to technical editing, and she notably was employed to edit the core strategies of Laing Rail’s successful bid for the London Rail Concession (2006).
Rachel’s lifelong interest in design, illustration, calligraphy and crafts has resulted in a wide range of artwork over the years. In 2005 she gained her credentials as a versatile illustrator on completion of her MA in printmaking and illustration, for which she specialised in wood engraving, particularly colour wood engraving. She has exhibited at the Bankside Gallery in London, the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, and the Royal Birmingham Society of Arts, among other venues.
She lives in south Gloucestershire with her son and daughter.
CV (last updated April 08).
