Not Far From Brideshead: Oxford Between the Wars, by Daisy Dunn, publ Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2022, pp 292, h/b, ISBN 978 1 4746 1557 0. £20.00.
The title of this book may initially appear to render it outside the ambit of reviews for inclusion in this Broadsheet, but to classics anoraks of a certain age it will prove to be a riveting read, focusing on this inter-war period via the lives and careers of a trio of famous scholars whose academic outputs will be familiar: Gilbert Murray, E. R. Dodds and Maurice Bowra. It is a thoughtfully-produced tome: the body text is uncluttered by footnotes (references are listed at the back), the author’s meticulous and wide-ranging research is attested by an extensive bibliography which will entice the reader to explore more deeply, and the index is thorough. The title alludes to Castle Howard, the family seat of Gilbert Murray’s wife.
There is no shortage of anecdotes and titbits to enlighten the reader about the personal lives of these three, and the many notable names of their interlocking social and academic networks. I for one, for example, did not know that Mary Renault practised dagger-throwing in her spare time (p118), or that the Middle Common Room of New College, whose warden was Rev W. A. Spooner, is still known as the Rew Nooner Spoom (p143), or that Milman Parry died tragically early (aged 33) after accidentally shooting himself with his own pistol (p182). At one stage Oxford undergraduates were actually banned from owning cars because of the sexual activities which took place in them, a measure opposed by non-driver Maurice Bowra, who depended on them, and John Betjeman, for lifts (p144). I could go on, but you get the picture...
The most interesting chapter details the behind-the-scenes shenanigans surrounding the appointment of a Regius Professor of Greek to succeed Gilbert Murray. Dodds and Bowra were the front runners, and there were issues with the former’s politics and scholarship and the latter’s sexuality; but there was more to it than that, of course. It was a fascinating episode, ending in Dodds’ appointment (amidst uproar), and Bowra’s eventually being consoled by the wardenship at Wadham.
Daisy Dunn already has an impressive portfolio of publications to her credit, and this one must surely rank as one of the most scholarly and entertaining. It serves as a salutary reminder, especially in the current climate, that behind big names and their achievements lies a common humanity.
The title of this book may initially appear to render it outside the ambit of reviews for inclusion in this Broadsheet, but to classics anoraks of a certain age it will prove to be a riveting read, focusing on this inter-war period via the lives and careers of a trio of famous scholars whose academic outputs will be familiar: Gilbert Murray, E. R. Dodds and Maurice Bowra. It is a thoughtfully-produced tome: the body text is uncluttered by footnotes (references are listed at the back), the author’s meticulous and wide-ranging research is attested by an extensive bibliography which will entice the reader to explore more deeply, and the index is thorough. The title alludes to Castle Howard, the family seat of Gilbert Murray’s wife.
There is no shortage of anecdotes and titbits to enlighten the reader about the personal lives of these three, and the many notable names of their interlocking social and academic networks. I for one, for example, did not know that Mary Renault practised dagger-throwing in her spare time (p118), or that the Middle Common Room of New College, whose warden was Rev W. A. Spooner, is still known as the Rew Nooner Spoom (p143), or that Milman Parry died tragically early (aged 33) after accidentally shooting himself with his own pistol (p182). At one stage Oxford undergraduates were actually banned from owning cars because of the sexual activities which took place in them, a measure opposed by non-driver Maurice Bowra, who depended on them, and John Betjeman, for lifts (p144). I could go on, but you get the picture...
The most interesting chapter details the behind-the-scenes shenanigans surrounding the appointment of a Regius Professor of Greek to succeed Gilbert Murray. Dodds and Bowra were the front runners, and there were issues with the former’s politics and scholarship and the latter’s sexuality; but there was more to it than that, of course. It was a fascinating episode, ending in Dodds’ appointment (amidst uproar), and Bowra’s eventually being consoled by the wardenship at Wadham.
Daisy Dunn already has an impressive portfolio of publications to her credit, and this one must surely rank as one of the most scholarly and entertaining. It serves as a salutary reminder, especially in the current climate, that behind big names and their achievements lies a common humanity.