Literature in Oxford

The city of Oxford, England, has generated and inspired much literature. Many authors have lived in Oxford, especially associated with the University. It has also been a setting in many books.

The Oxford University Press is the University's own publishing house. It is world-renowned for its as well as other , largely academic in nature. It also publishes the Oxford World's Classics series. Other publishing companies based in the city include David Fickling Books, [ http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/childrens/grownups/davidficklingbooks/home.htm ] notable as the first bi-continental publisher of children's books. [ http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/childrens/aboutus/aboutus.htm ]

Leading 20th century authors at Oxford University include C. S. Lewis ( including "The Chronicles of Narnia" series of seven books) and J. R. R. Tolkien( including ).

"Inspector Morse" is a detective book series based in Oxford, by Colin Dexter. It has spawned a successful television series. Other book series associated with Oxford include "A Staircase in Surrey", a five novel series, written between 1974–78 by J. I. M. Stewart, and "Kate Ivory" by Veronica Stallwood.

Timeline

1850s
* "The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green" (Cuthbert M. Bede, in three parts: 1850s)

1860s
* "Tom Brown at Oxford" (Thomas Hughes, 1861)
* "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (Lewis Carroll, 1865)

1870s
* "Through the Looking Glass" (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
* "Cripps the Carrier" (Richard Doddridge Blackmore, 1876) — author of "Lorna Doone"

1880s
* "Three Men in a Boat" (Jerome K. Jerome, 1889) — a journey from Kingston to Oxford on the River Thames

1890s
* "A Young Oxford Maid" (Sarah Tytler, 1891?)
* "Jude the Obscure" (Thomas Hardy, 1895) — Oxford is called "Christminster"

1900s
* "A Clerk of Oxford" (E. Everett-Green, 1900)
* "The Wind in the Willows" (Kenneth Grahame, 1908) — Grahame is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford

1910s
* "Zuleika Dobson" (Max Beerbohm, 1911)

1920s
* "The Charm of Oxford" (J. Wells, 1920) — Warden of Wadham College, Oxford

1930s
* "A Storm in Oxford" (E. Tangye Lean, 1932)
* "Gaudy Night" (Dorothy L. Sayers, 1935)
* "Death at the President's Lodgings" (Michael Innes, 1936)
* "The Hobbit" (J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937) — written at 20 Northmoor Road, North Oxford
* "An Oxford University Chest" (John Betjeman, 1938)
* "Towers in the Mist" (Elizabeth Goudge, 1938)

1940s
* "The Case of the Gilded Fly" (Edmund Crispin, 1944)
* "Brideshead Revisited" (Evelyn Waugh, 1945)
* "Jill" (Philip Larkin, 1946)

1950s
* "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (C. S. Lewis, 1950) — first book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series
* "The Lord of the Rings" (J. R. R. Tolkien, three volumes: 1954–55) — mostly written at 20 Northmoor Road; see also film trilogy

1960s
* "The Game" (A. S. Byatt, 1967)

1970s
* "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (John le Carré, 1974)
* "A Staircase in Surrey" (J. I. M. Stewart, 1974–78) — a five novel series
* "Last Bus to Woodstock" (Colin Dexter, 1977) — first book in the Inspector Morse series

1980s
* "Death of a Don" (Howard Shaw, 1981)
* "The Book and the Brotherhood" (Iris Murdoch, 1983)
* "Oxford Blood" (Antonia Fraser, 1985)
* "Where the Rivers Meet" (John Wain, 1988)

1990s
* "Dirty Tricks" (Michael Dibdin, 1991)
* "The Children of Men" (P. D. James, 1992)
* "Doomsday Book" (Connie Willis, 1992)
* "The Men and the Girls" (Joanna Trollope, 1992)
* "" (Sue Townsend, 1993)
* "Dancing to the Pipers" (Kate Fenton, 1993)
* "Juggling" (Barbara Trapido, 1994)
* "Oxford Exit" (Veronica Stallwood, 1994)
* "His Dark Materials" (Philip Pullman, trilogy: 1995, 1997, 2000)
* "Dangerous Games" (Jodie Sinclair, 1997)
* "The Devil's Hunt" (Paul Doherty, 1997)
* "An Instance of the Fingerpost" (Iain Pears, 1997)
* "The Poison Tree" (Tony Strong, 1997)
* "To Say Nothing of the Dog" (Connie Willis, 1997)
* "The Greatest Sorrow" (Keith Ovenden, 1998)
* "The Travelling Hornplayer" (Barbara Trapido, 1998)

2000s
* "The Remorseful Day" (Colin Dexter, 2000) — last book in the Inspector Morse series
* "Oxford Shadows" (Veronica Stallwood, 2001)
* "Another Kind of Cinderella" (Angela Huth, 2002)
* "Bleak Midwinter" (Peter Millar, 2002)
* "Lyra's Oxford" (Philip Pullman, 2003)
* "The Oxford Murders" (Guillermo Martínez, 2003) — also a 2008 film
* "The House in Norham Gardens" (Penelope Lively, 2004) — set in Norham Gardens, North Oxford

See also

* Oxford literature and film
* University of Oxford in literature and other media

Further reading

* Hood, Nancy, "Literary Oxford". Sutton Publishing Limited, 1999. ISBN 0-7509-2115-3.

External links

* Rowley, Richard. [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~lina0897/richardrowley/teaching_oxfordnovels_rl.html Oxford novels: a selected reading list] .
* " [http://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/events.cfm/action/detail/event/2191/ A-Z of Literary Oxford] " exhibition at the Museum of Oxford, 10 February – 8 July 2007.