Since its humble beginnings as a ford for oxen across the river Thames in the tenth century, Oxford has been an inspiration to generations of writers and thinkers, who have admired its 'dreaming spires' (Matthew Arnold), or warned of its excesses, as did Anthony Trollope: 'Oxford is the most dangerous place to which a young man can be sent'. This compact gift book is packed full of witty, scandalous and entertaining quotations about this famous city from the Middle Ages to the current decade.