Hobhouse, Christopher
Oxford as it was and as it is today.
London, B.T.Batsford Ltd 1948.
Full Description
8vo. x + 120pp, 138 photo ills on plates incl colour frontispiece. Publisher’s cloth, in dustwrapper (the wrapper a little defective at head of spine). Pencil presentation inscription on front free endpaper. No ownership inscription but Gavin Stamp’s copy.
Fourth edition of this well-written book by the writer Christopher Hobhouse (1910-1940), first published in 1939. It incorporates sensible remarks about the architecture of the University’s buildings, ancient and modern, but its chief merit lies in Hobhouse’s mordant literary style and in the period flavour given to it by its numerous photo images of Oxford life (although female readers of today will find his characterisation of women members of the university (pp 101-3) unspeakably sexist).