Literature in Oxford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 dictionaries as well as other books, largely academic in nature. It also publishes the Oxford World's Classics series.

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

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.

Contents 1 Timeline 2 See also 3 Further reading 4 External links

[edit] 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)
• Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (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

[edit] See also

• Literature in Oxford
• University of Oxford in literature and other media

[edit] Further reading

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

[edit] External links

• Rowley, Richard. Oxford novels: a selected reading list.
• A-Z of Literary Oxford exhibition at the Museum of Oxford, 10 February – 8 July 2007.