The Oxford Book of Oxford (Oxford Books) [Paperback]

Jan Morris (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2002 | Series: Oxford Books

In this entertaining and lively anthology, Jan Morris traces the history of Oxford University from its foundation in the Middle Ages through to the twentieth century, combining extracts from contemporary observers with her own informative commentary.

The reader is invited to view the development of the college system, the creation of the Bodleian, Magdalen's defiance of James II, Newman, and the Oxford Movement. The life and times of Oxford are exalted or derided by writers ranging from the antiquarian Anthony Wood to Evelyn Waugh, Dr. Johnson and Mr. Gladstone, Hilaire Belloc and Thomas Hardy. Unworldly scholars and eccentric dons walk the pages, accompanied by the great characters of Oxford such as Benjamin Jowett, Sir Maurice Bowra, and William Spooner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition an admirable book ... full of bustling Oxford life' Times Literary Supplement

`The whole book is composed of choice quotes ... a book in which to put your thumb and pull out a plum' Financial Times

About the Author

Jan Morris, who is Anglo-Welsh by parentage, divides her time between her library house in North Wales, he dacha in the Black Mountains of South Wales, and travels abroad. She is an Honorary Fellow of the University College of Wales.

Of her work Paul Theroux has remarked, 'I don't think that there is a writer alive who has Jan Morris's serenity or strength'. Her many publications include: Venice (1960), Oxford (1965), the Pax Britannica trilogy (1968), and The Matter of Wales (1984). She has also published a novel, Last Letters from Hav, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize, as well as books on Hong Kong, Manhatten, and Sydney.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192804073
• ISBN-13: 978-0192804075
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Leisure Read, March 4, 2004

By 

Mike Chih Kung "mikekung" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Book of Oxford (Oxford Books) (Paperback)

Jan Morris captures the history of Oxford with many delightful stories and quotes. The book is great because it takes you on a journey of Oxford through the ages. The dons, the students, formal hall, college rowing are all familiar to someone who have studied at Oxford. There are also things that current students may not be as familiar with such as the history of women in Oxford. This is a great read but I am disappointed that more recent stories are not collected from the newer colleges such as Lady Margaret Hall, St. Anthony's or Mansfield, etc. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for primary sources, July 28, 2005

By 

Molly K. Wright "moll_cutpurse" (Columbus, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Book of Oxford (Oxford Books) (Paperback)

I'll be attending Oxford next year, and one of my professors recommended this book to me. It explains important (as well as unimportant yet interesting) developments in the campus, and it does so through primary documents such as speeches, letters, diaries, &c. The editor, Jan Morris, delivers excellent and brief introductions to each passage. This is an excellent book if you are doing research on any of the minor details of the campus and need primary research. It is not, however, the light summer reading my professor had me think it was. Instead of the beach, find some time to curl up with this text in a library, public or at home.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dee-lish, August 16, 2005

By 

A. Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Book of Oxford (Oxford Books) (Paperback)

Open this book at random and you're pretty sure to hit on something witty or whimsical or even laugh-out-loud funny; crammed with great stories about titans such as Shelley, Wilde, Newman, C.S. Lewis, etc., as well as little-known, highly eccentric Oxford dons. Beautiful first-hand descriptions of the city itself in its many Arcadian manifestations, plus behind-the-scenes looks at a great, entrenched university adapting itself to an ever-changing world.