The Secret History of Oxford

by Paul Sullivan

The Secret History of Oxford offers the reader an off-the-beaten-track tour of the city’s landmarks and streets. Filled with hundreds of facts and anecdotes, it reveals the amusing, unlikely and downright wonderful stories hidden beneath the surface. Some, such as the fact that the founder of Oxford was eaten by wolves, will be known; many others, such as the fact that Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, stole a piece of New College’s unicorn horn, that one of the Fellows of Christ Church was a bear or that Oxford Castle has England’s most frequently sighted ghost, are much less widely known – and some of these stories have not appeared in print for hundreds of years. With rare photographs and intriguing information on the people, eras and events that defined the city’s history, this book lets the flying cats out of the bags, rattles the dragons’ cages and reveals all the skeletons in the city’s cupboards.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Paul Sullivan was born in 1962 beneath the dreaming spires of Grimsby, England. After surprising himself by winning a short story competition at the age of 13 with a piece about a Messianic otter, he determined to spend the rest of his life writing and seeking out the unorthodox. His various publications feature history, folklore, wildlife and far more jokes than his editors would like. Several of his recent books reflect an immersion in his latest adopted county, Oxfordshire, where he lives with wife Magdalena and two sons Jan and Theo; while his eldest son Jay enables him to keep one foot in his other adopted home county, Derbyshire. Should he ever stumble upon a willing genie, the following day's headlines will announce the following: Gerald Durrell is alive again, beer is good for you, and Babel Fish are now available on the NHS.

Reviews

[Joan Elizabeth Greenop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Oxford

I chose this book because it will be useful when I visit my grandson there. It's full of information that is presented in a way that doesn't bog you down with statistics you don't need to know about. It's an easy and enjoyable read for a wide range of ages. Would be a nice gift for anybody going up to Oxford. The chapter which explains the meaning of words and phrases used at the university would be useful for new students.