Rachel Holmes was educated in South Africa and England. From 1991 to 1998 she held lectureships in English at Queen Mary College, University of London and the University of Sussex. In 1998 she became part of the launch team of amazon.co.uk, where she was website manager until 2002. Her first book, Scanty Particulars- The Life of Dr James Barry , was published to critical acclaim in 2002. She is currently writing a life of Eleanor Marx. A broadcaster, columnist and reviewer, she is director of Friends of TAC, the organisation that supports the Treatment Action Campaign in the fight for HIV and AIDS in South Africa.