The Oxford Book of Oxford

by JanMorris (Editor)

• Used

  Paperback
  1984

  $4.19

  In this entertaining and lively anthology, Jan Morris traces the history of the university from it foundation in the Middle Ages through to 1945, combining extracts from contemporary observers with her own linking commentary. Important events in the history of the University are described and explained ( development of the college system, Magdalen's defiance of James II, Newman and the Oxford Movement), and its life and times are exalted or derided by writers ranging from Anthony Wood to Evelyn Waugh. Unworldly scholars and eccentric dons walk these pages: characters like Benjamin Jowett, Sir Maurice Bowra and William Spooner, who ordered an undergraduate to `leave by the town drain', and coined Spoonerism. This book is intended for general readers interested in anthologies; students (from Oxford or other universities); anyone with an interest in Oxford University or institutional histories.

• Used

  Paperback
  1988

  $4.06

  King James I once said that if he were not a king he would like to be an Oxford man. I was a modest, good-humoured boy, Max Beerbohm once wrote, It is Oxford that has made me insufferable. Few cities, Jan Morris observes, have been more loved, loathed and celebrated. As with the same author's Venice , this book is an account of the character, history, mores, buildings, climate and people of an uncatagorizable city. Jan Morris describes the Oxford which gave the world the MG sports car, as well as the Oxford which educated 22 British Prime Ministers. The book gives a portrait of the small city which has given its name to a marmalade, bags, shoes, a grey, a Group, a Movement, a dictionary and an accent.

• New

  Paperback
  2001

  $16.75

  'Few cities,' Jan Morris observes, 'have been much more loved, loathed, and celebrated.' This book has become a classic account of the character, history, mores, buildings, climate, and people of one of Britain's most fascinating cities. 'A book of outstanding excellence, with a sweep of knowledge and a distinction of style such as I have never before encountered in a work of this sort ...Brilliant alike in observation and imagination ...brings the very stones of Oxford to life' Sunday Telegraph.