Rachael Low

Rachael Low (6 July 1923 – 14 December 2014) was a British film historian, best known as the author of the seven-volume The History of the British Film.

The daughter of the cartoonist Sir David Low, she gained her BSc in sociology and economics in 1944 from the London School of Economics,

Film critic Matthew Sweet has criticised Low's "tyrannous influence" on the writings of subsequent film historians.

Legacy The annual Rachael Low Lecture was established in 2007 in her honour, as part of the British Silent Film Festival. In December 2018, an event was held at the British Film Institute Library to assess her legacy and mark her contribution to the history of early British film.

Principal works Originally published by George Allen & Unwin, Low's history is now published by Routledge. The History of the British Film 1896–1906 (with Roger Manvell), Allen & Unwin, 1948 The History of the British Film 1906–1914, Allen & Unwin, 1948 The History of the British Film 1914–1918, Allen & Unwin, 1948 The History of the British Film 1918–1929, Allen & Unwin, 1950 The History of the British Film 1929–1939: Films of Comment and Persuasion of the 1930s, Allen & Unwin, 1979 The History of the British Film 1929–1939: Documentary and Educational films of the 1930s, Allen & Unwin, 1979 The History of the British Film: Film Making in 1930s Britain, Allen & Unwin, 1985