"Literary Links" is a series of posts celebrating
Britain's wonderful links with great authors, dramatists and poets.
Christ Church College in Oxford has its fair share of famous alumni including three notable wordsmiths: Dorothy Sayers, W.H.Auden and Richard Curtis.
·
Dorothy
Sayers (1893-1957) was born at Christ Church! Her father, Reverend Henry Sayers was the
chaplain and headmaster of the Choir School.
Dorothy returned as a young woman to be educated at Somerville College,
and was one of the first women to receive a degree from Oxford. Dorothy was an avid writer, but is best
remembered for her murder mysteries featuring the amateur sleuth Lord Peter
Wimsey.
·
Wystan
Hugh Auden (1907-1973), more commonly known as W.H., arrived to study biology, but soon switched
to English Literature. A wise move for
that is where his future was heading. With his monocle and cane he wandered Oxford’s
streets lapping up the student life, enjoying good food, music, sports and
conversation. He published hundreds of
poems, essays and reviews. Although he
eventually settled in America he returned for three weeks each year between
1956-1961 to lecture as Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.
·
Richard
Curtis (1956- ) studied English
Language and Literature, and his love of words has entertained us ever
since. Richard met Rowan Atkinson in
Oxford drama clubs and they created Blackadder and Mr. Bean. His pen went on to write or adapt numerous
films and TV series including the Vicar
of Dibley, Spitting Image, Four Weddings
and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually and War
Horse.
This
is an excerpt from the tour Oxford’s Noble and Great Ones - Part
1 which explores around the southern part of Oxford.
The full tour is found on www.obelisktours.co.uk
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