Jenni Calder worked in Scotland with the National Museum of Scotland from 1978 to 2001 (including Head of Publications and script co-ordinator for the Museum of Scotland exhibitions), since when she has worked as a freelance writer and lecturer. She is a well-known author of many books on Scottish literature and history, including: Stevenson and Victorian Scotland (EUP 1980); The Robert Louis Stevenson Companion (Harris 1980); The Wealth of a Nation (NMS 1989); No Ordinary Journey: John Rae, Arctic Explorer (NMS 1993); Scots in the USA (Luath Press 2006). She has authored and edited many other collections on Scottish literature and history.