Gruesome Guides: Oxford

Horrible Histories Gruesome Guides #1

by Terry Deary, Martin Brown (Illustrator)

HORRIBLE HISTORIES GRUESOME OXFORD takes readers on a gore-tastic tour of the streets of Oxford, exposing all of its most scurrilous secrets. With the frightful full-colour map tourists can plot their path to the past - take a punt past corpse-ridden Christchurch and go skeleton-spotting at the cruel and crumbling castle. Burning bishops, blood-soaked streets and student scraps, it's a trip no Horrible Histories fan will want to miss!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Middle Grade, British Literature, Historical, Humor

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2007

About the author

A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.

A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.

The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.

Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Tex · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Oxford” is the fifth of the Horrible Histories Gruesome Guides series of individual towns and cities by Terry Deary. While not a long book (96pages) it’s jam packed full of this scholarly city’s horrible highlights from 600AD right through to the early 2000’s.

It was once written in the Middle Ages that “There has been more blood spilt in the city of Oxford High Street than on some of the battlefields of the world.” Here you’ll find out about burning Bishops, savage students, College criminals, and Saints and Skeletons.

While aimed at kids these books are fascinating reading for kids and adults alike. Informative, funny, and easy to read the reader is actually in danger of learning something whilst being entertained.

Horrible Histories Gruesome Guide to Oxford gets 4 creepy colleges out of 5!

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful read to learn something about local history, but a bit scattered in time. I got a bit of mental whiplash going from one featured historical figure to the next. By design it emphasizes the particular gruesome bits of history. I am not the target audience of the book at all, but I enjoyed it anyway before passing it along to my school age children.

[darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très sympa ! anecdotes et histoires affreuses sur Oxford, le tout illustré, un bon moment de lecture.

[Ell Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a quick bedtime read, forgot how chaotic these books were though!

[sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for the nostalgia and fun for one of my fave cities

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Annabelle]

Dans une cité médiévale comme Oxford, facile de trouver tout un tas d'histoires de pendus, de rois déchus et de cavaliers sans tête.
Une bonne introduction à l'histoire de la ville dont j'ignorais qu'elle fut épargnée par les bombes allemandes parce qu'Hitler voulait en faire la nouvelle capitale du pays, à la suite de Charles 1er.
Dans l'approche, ce bouquin me fait penser au London Dungeon: L'histoire ludique par l'horreur! So British!

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Great for all ages! Seriously, please buy this for your Oxford student. I wish I'd had it when I moved here from America in October 2016. Instead, I've just found it two days before I fly home. It was funny and I know so many fun facts now that I'd wish I'd known as I was exploring the city.

[George Foord · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Mostly focusing on the university.

[gemma ♍️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

so nostalgic. very good

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

44 - 2023

[Astrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love a Horrible Histories book! I really wish they'd done more location ones, they're really fun little additions to the collection.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in Oxford in 2009, and of course I didn't know much about the city. I wonder what I would have felt if I had read this book before that trip. Well, I might have roamed the streets looking for all these horrible bits of the past...
Anyway, this is again a great book from the Horrible Histories series. After reading this, I can make more connections between Oxford and the British history. It is no longer just a city of dreaming spires that a lot of tourists visit day in and day out because of the university and its quaint college buildings and castles, but also a backdrop for important historical events as well as some bloody (but attractive) details of the lives of the town folks.
Really wish I had another chance to visit Oxford, with this book in my backpack!

[Liselotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

The set up is exactly like the HH books, but it did feel a bit… lacking. Now, I did learn a lot from this book, but it just felt too short. It only has about 100 pages and it just feels like it could have 50 pages more to explain a little bit more. It’s not a bad book by far, but considering I’m such a huge Horrible Histories fan, I expected a little bit more… Oh, well! I’m still excited to add this one to my [ever growing] collection, because of the bond I have with Oxford!

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really have a lot to say, tho I did learn a few things, such as the Botanic Gardens are built on 2 meters of human poo. This series does make history interesting, I suppose, especially for kids like me. I do seem to remember the London one being more interesting and substantial. Perhaps Oxford just hasn't got much history?

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of silly and gross, which is exactly what you'd expect. I learned some things, and found myself referencing it during a conversation, so I guess it actually has some merit besides using the word poo.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horrible Histories is a series of illustrated books published in the UK by Scholastic. They are designed to get children interested in history by concentrating on the trivial, unusual, gory, or unpleasant. They are exceptionally well loved by my history loving children

[Nayantara · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is really no better way to get kids interested in history than by giving them a Terry Deary Horrible Histories! I loved these books as a kid and I love to collect them now. Deary's take on history is hilarious and interesting. It may not all be true but you definitely learn something!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro para niños que cuenta algunas cosas de la historia de Oxford. Es divertido y entretenido y además se aprende algo con él.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book because I really like Oxford ☺