Worcester: Portrait of an Oxford College - Hardcover

Myth and fact are not always easy to separate in Worcester's history; provoking a range of interesting, often quirky questions with even quirkier answers.

Was there really a time when the College became a training-ground for Greek Orthodox clergy from Constantinople and Antioch? True, albeit only briefly.

Was Lewis Carroll inspired to create the rabbit-hole in Alice, by seeing the tunnel into the gardens at the end of the main quad? Almost certainly false.

Did wallabies once roam the College grounds? Yes. Did Rupert Murdoch put them there? No.

This book is for anyone who wants to know why Worcester seems to create a special magic, for readers intrigued by a very unusual Oxford College, and for anyone interested in Worcester's people - from the architect and collector George Clarke, to the opium-eater Thomas de Quincey, to spymaster Masterman to the dons, the staff and the students who have enlivened the College in more recent times.

It is a rich and colorful 'portrait' of the College: not an academic history, but an impression of the place, its people and its customs.