On the Shelves – Buildings of England: Wiltshire

The first edition of the Buildings of England: Wiltshire by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner was published in 1963, as part of the 46 volume series covering all of the English counties. Pevsner wrote or co-authored almost all of the books published between 1951 and 1974, visiting two counties a year in his holidays from teaching at […]

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On the Shelves – Cooking with Alcohol

Cooking with Alcohol by Susannah Rickard (née Swinn, PR 2007-09) contains over one hundred recipes will teach you to use one of the most popular ingredients in history in ways you’ve never imagined. Learn why alcohol deserves a firm place in your kitchen as well as your glass, and explore the ways that alcohol can […]

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On The Shelves – 12 Birds to Save Your Life

Charlie Corbett (C1 1990-95) has written a book, “12 Birds to Save Your Life – Finding Happiness in Nature“, due to be published in June. “Can you recognise the cheerful chirrups of the house sparrow? A song thrush singing out at winter’s darkest hour? Or the beautiful, haunting call of the curlew? At a time […]

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On the Shelves – The Art Museum in Modern Times

Charles Saumarez Smith (C1 1967-71) has written a book The Art Museum in Modern Times looking at how art museums changed in the past century and where they are heading in the future due to be published in March 2021. “A compelling examination of the art museum, this sweeping book explores how the architecture, vision, […]

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On the Shelves: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Jonny Oates (PR 1982-87), British Liberal Democrat politician and member of the House of Lords, has published his autobiography, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden.   “Aged fifteen and armed with a credit card stolen from his father, Jonny Oates ran away from home and boarded a plane to Addis Ababa. His plan? To […]

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On the Shelves – Martha by Walker Zupp (B1 2012-14)

Walker Zupp (B1 2012-14) has published Martha, a dystopian detective novel set in a future of civil wars and hallucinogenic drugs. Find out more and order the book here.   “Zupp’s bleak vision of the future is, unfortunately, all too convincing, and his darkly comic prose offers perhaps the best means of facing it as […]

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On the Shelves – “Public Schools and the Second World War”

David Walsh (C1 1960-65) has, with Sir Anthony Seldon, published “Public Schools and the Second World War”. The book follows on from the first book “Public Schools and the Great War”, and revisits those same schools in the Second World War. “Privileged conservative traditions of private schools were challenged in the inter-war years by the […]

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On the Shelves – The Storm

Amanda Jennings (PR 1989-91) has published her latest novel, The Storm. “To the outside world Hannah married the perfect man. Behind the closed doors of their imposing home it’s a very different story. Nathan controls everything Hannah does. He chooses her clothes, checks her receipts, and keeps her passport locked away. But why does she […]

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On the Shelves – Murder in St Pauls

Richard Dale (SU 1957-61) has published Murder in St Pauls. A murder mystery set in turbulent pre-Reformation London, Richard Dale’s book has excellent reviews and is available now. Find out more here but don’t forget to try your local bookshop!

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On the Shelves – The Rev Douglas Dales

The Rev. Douglas Dales (CR 1984-2012) published three studies of St Bonaventure. Bonaventure lived in the thirteenth century and was a leader of the Franciscans a theologian and spiritual teacher. Rev. Dales said, “You can learn a great deal about Christianity from his writings and these two books are designed to make what he thought […]

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On the Shelves – Interfaith Worship and Prayer

In 2019, Christopher Lewis (C2 1957-61) published his book Interfaith Worship and Prayer; We Must Pray Together. This ground-breaking book contains contributions from 12 different religious traditions: Hinduism, African Traditional Religion, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Shintoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Unitarianism and Bahá’í. Interfaith worship and prayer can be complex, but this book demonstrates that in […]

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On the Shelves – Stars Before Bedtime

Dr Jessamy Hibberd (EL 1993-98) has published Stars Before Bedtime: A Mindful Fall Asleep Book, part of the Before Bedtime series. “In this fast-paced world, relaxing and preparing for sleep can be difficult for children. This beautiful, fact-filled book helps ease bedtime struggles with mindfulness, muscle relaxation, gentle yoga poses, visualisation and other exercises proven […]

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On The Shelves On World Book Day

As seems appropriate on World Book Day, we have books from two OMs to share! Firstly, Richard Brown (C1 1970-74) has published two books which both use some aspects of his veterinary career as background. The first is A Classical Vet in Modern Times and tells of the encounters of a rural vet: the (unusual) […]

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On the Shelves – The Thunderer: The Life and Times of John Walter II

Christopher McKane (CO 1959-64) has published The Thunderer: The Life and Times of John Water II. John Walter II (1776-1847) was controller of The Times newspaper for 44 years. As a qualified Master Printer he introduced the world’s first steam presses, an overnight strategy that outflanked his mutinous printers. He can rightly be called one […]

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On the Shelves – That’s Mental

Amanda Rosenberg (NC 1999-2004) has published a book about her long struggle with mental health titled, That’s Mental: Painfully Funny Things That Drive Me Crazy About Being Mentally Ill. “Raw, witty, and unapologetic, That’s Mental is a collection of laugh-out-loud funny, confessional essays about the inappropriate, devastating, and strangely amusing side to being mentally ill. […]

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