Elizabeth Donata Rawson, FBA (13 April 1934[1] – 10 December 1988[2]) was a classical scholar known primarily for her work in the intellectual history of the Roman Republic and her biography of Cicero.
The Rawsons were originally a Yorkshire family whose lineage can be traced back to around 1500, but Elizabeth's great-great-grandfather had settled in Kent in the early 19th century.
The collection comprises 31 "substantial" articles written in a 20-year period, during which time she also published three major books and contributed to standard reference works in her field.
"[11] In regard to her methodology, Rawson remarked that "a historical generalisation means nothing, is totally empty, without the concrete details from which it emerges and to which it lends significance.
[13] Wiseman had this assessment: The most courteous of scholars, Rawson never went in for polemic, or for mere nit-picking correction of detail for its own sake; what she read prompted her to sort out and put down her own arguments and conclusions, and the reader can judge how much more historically sophisticated they are.