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.