Oxford
Can W.H. Auden be called a war poet?
Though Auden maintained that the Great War had little effect on him, its catastrophe haunts his early poetry and shaped his anxiety about what it meant to be English
How universities raised a generation of activists
It was only a matter of time before America’s student protests spread to the UK. In Oxford, tents have been…
Bugs, biscuits, trench foot: from the front line of the uni protests
On the grass in front of UCL’s main building, on Sunday night, there were about 30 tents and the portico…
What became of Thomas Becket’s bones?
Alice Roberts’s examinations of violent deaths in the past take her to the site of Becket’s murder in Canterbury cathedral and the later destruction of his shrine by Henry VIII
An Oxford spy ring is finally uncovered
Charles Beaumont’s warped group, recruited by an eccentric fellow of Jesus College, seems all too plausible. Other thrillers from Celia Walden and Matthew Blake
Who would be a farmer’s wife?
‘Some days I feel like I’m drowning,’ admits Helen Rebanks, caught between cooking, housework, admin, tagging lambs and the school run at the Lake District family farm
Espionage dominates the best recent crime fiction
Owen Matthews concludes his magnificent KGB trilogy, and there’s a thrilling debut from David McCloskey, a former CIA Middle East specialist
Fellowship of the Lamb: how we’re saving Tolkien’s pub
How a group of regulars are saving Tolkien’s pub
Letters: Why I love Warhammer
Troubles ahead? Sir: Jenny McCartney’s article ‘Border lines’ (1 October) was a profoundly depressing one. Perhaps there will be a…
Why has Oxford killed off a much-loved Catholic college?
Why has Oxford killed off a much-loved Catholic college?
A.N. Wilson has many regrets
‘Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.’ A.N. Wilson seems, on the surface, to have taken to heart…
A poet finds home in a patch of nettles
Towards the end of a long relationship – ‘resolved to have a conversation about the Future, which meant Separating’ –…
Michael Beloff QC drops names – but they’re not the ones we’re curious about
‘The law,’ according to W.S. Gilbert’s Lord Chancellor, ‘is the true embodiment of everything that’s excellent’ and, by common consent,…
The culture wars have crept into Oxbridge admissions
The negative discrimination of Oxbridge admissions
Character is king in the latest crime fiction
Thriller writers are hard pressed to stand out in what’s become a very crowded field. As a result, from Cardiff…
The women who challenged a stale, male philosophy
Kathleen Stock describes how four women undergraduates in 1940s Oxford challenged an arid, modish philosophy
Oxford should not accept money that is tainted by fascism
Dons and students at Oxford have in recent years been deeply exercised about Cecil Rhodes, who died 120 years ago.…
Oxford, 'sensitivity readers' and the trouble with safe spaces
The list of things that students must apparently be protected from grows longer every day. Controversial speakers, rude comedians, sombreros…
Roman cancel culture didn’t stop at statues
The mob is at work again in Oxford, protesting against the existence of Oriel’s statue of Cecil Rhodes. But this…
Why the Oxford Queen portrait row matters
The sheer scale of the outrage over Magdalen College Oxford electing to remove a portrait of the Queen from the…
What happens now that Rhodes didn't fall?
Oriel College, Oxford’s decision to retain the statue of Cecil Rhodes has generated the usual voluminous fury. It has also shown it…
Is AstraZeneca's Covid jab effective against the South African variant?
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been under attack ever since the results of its phase three trials were announced in December.…
Why is going to Oxford being held against me?
Should going to Oxford be held against you? In my experience, some employers think it should. A month before the…
Oxford’s remarkable vaccine success
It is worth taking a moment to stand back and applaud Sarah Gilbert and the Oxford vaccine team’s achievement. The…
Statue wars: what should we do with controversial monuments?
Secretary of State for Communities Robert Jenrick’s pledge to protect monuments and statues from mob iconoclasm with new laws and…
