RACHEL ASHCROFT
Freelance Journalist
Edinburgh, UK
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I live in Edinburgh and write about books, art, culture and climate change. I have forged a successful career in journalism, writing for a range of international publications including The Week, New Statesman, History Today and more. In 2021, I won the Nico Colchester Prize and spent four months writing about European culture and arts for The Economist.
I have experience in reporting, interviewing sources, podcasting and editing.
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My interests include reading, cooking, gaming and long walks in the Scottish Highlands. I also have a PhD in French and Italian Renaissance literature from Durham University.​
WORK
TO PHILOSOPHISE IS TO LEARN HOW TO DIE?
Forthcoming January 2024
IS NETFLIX DOOMED?
December 2022
MONSTERS, MOTHERS, MULIERES: A READING LIST ON THE WOMEN OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY
September 2022
INFLUENCERS AND ANTIQUES? HOW A NEW GENERATION IS TRANSFORMING THE MARKET
August 2022
IN SCOTLAND, GAELIC IS WRESTLING WITH NEW AND OLD IDENTITIES
June 2022
WHAT MAKES A GOOD PATRIOT?
April 2022
AMERICANS ARE BAD AT TALKING ABOUT DEATH, AND IT'S HURTING THE ENVIRONMENT
April 2022
SECLUDED IN HIS LIBRARY, MONTAIGNE LOOKED INWARDS FOR INSPIRATION
March 2022
AS THE PANDEMIC RAGED, EUROPE BULLDOZED HISTORIC BUILDINGS
January 2022
ESPORTS ARE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE MORE WOMEN TO COMPETE
November 2021
WHAT IS THE "3.5%" RULE BELOVED OF CLIMATE PROTESTERS?
November 2021
HOW MIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT EUROPEAN GASTRONOMY?
November 2021
THINGS WE'D LOVE TO SEE IN SEASON 2 OF 'THE WITCHER'
August 2021
FOR MONTAIGNE, VERBAL JOUSTING IS THE ONLY WAY TO REACH TRUTH
September 2020
IN 14TH-CENTURY FLORENCE, SOME RESIDENTS SOCIALLY DISTANCED WHILE OTHERS HIT THE BARS
August 2020
HEAVEN AND HELL: A HISTORY OF THE AFTERLIFE
August 2020
THE PIG IN THE STORM
June 2020
GET READY FOR THE WOMEN OF 'THE WITCHER'
December 2019
APOCALYPSE THEN: WHEN THE WORLD DIDN’T END
July 2019
A 16TH-CENTURY MANUAL ON HOW TO DIE, AND WHAT IT TEACHES US ABOUT LIFE
October 2018
"My perfect day is sitting in a room with some blank paper. That’s heaven. That’s gold and anything else is just a waste of time."
Cormac McCarthy
