Download or read book The Oxford Book of Oxford written by Jan Morris and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.