Rachel Meller grew up near Lon­don, the mid­dle daugh­ter of Aus­tri­an Jew­ish refugees. After study­ing neu­ro­bi­ol­o­gy at Sus­sex, and research into hor­mones and behav­iour at Cam­bridge, she became a writer in a com­mu­ni­ca­tion con­sul­tan­cy. The Box with the Sun­flower Clasp is her first book.