Oxford in Quotations

by Violet Moller (Compiler)

Oxford is one of the world’s great cities―a source of inspiration to generations of poets, novelists, journalists, and commentators who have visited or called it home. Be it praise or colorful invective, everyone, it seems, has something to say about the city and this slender volume―filled with wise, witty, and sometimes scandalous quotes―presents the full range of impressions it has made.

Oxford, “City of Dreaming Spires,” earns high marks from Hillaire Belloc, who writes that “there are few greater temptations on earth than to stay permanently at Oxford . . . and to read all the books in the Bodleian.” But it is also, according to Anthony Trollope, “the most dangerous place to which a young man can be sent.” And none other than Max Beerbohm blames it for making him insufferable.

For fans, foes, and those planning a trip to the city in the hopes of forming an opinion, this collection will be welcomed.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2014

About the author

Dr. Violet Moller is a freelance historian and author whose work focuses on the history of ideas and how knowledge has been transmitted through the centuries. She also hosts the history podcast Travels Through Time.

Moller started her career as a journalist, covering theatre, art, books, going out, music and culture in general. Her work has appeared in The Face, Arena, The Scotsman, Metro Scotland, and The List. She then worked as an editor and translator in Denmark. Her fist book, The Curious World of Dickens, was published in 2012. Her most recent book, The Map of Knowledge, was published in 2019 and received the RSL Jerwood Prize for Nonfiction.

Moller received her MA in classics and medieval history and her PhD in intellectual history from Edinburgh University.