Eynsham Heritage - Literary Eynsham

This list was prompted by the ceremony for Ælfric Grammaticus in July 2022. Do get in touch to expand it!

Author links are for entries on our website. Feel free to disregard the commercial book links: other suppliers are available ;-) Why not start in Eynsham Library?

* = lives or lived in Eynsham

Further reading

• Martin Harris’s fuller study in Eynsham Record 25 (2008) pp 4-9.
• Eynsham Record Contributors 1984-2006

Aelfric* - Letter to the Monks of Eynsham (c1005) and numerous other writings; study by Eynsham Primary School (2005)

Anne Louise Avery* (Director, Flash of Splendour)

• Reynard the Fox (2020): an imaginative retelling of 15th century Dutch fables, first translated by William Caxton
• Albions Glorious Ile (2015-6): series of historical hand-colouring books drawn from Michael Drayton’s Jacobean poem

Catriona Bass* - writer, photographer and conservationist, driving force in Eynsham's Nature Recovery Network!

• Inside the Treasure House: time in Tibet (1980)
• Education in Tibet: policy and practice since 1950 (1998)

Don Chapman*

• Oxford Playhouse: High and Low Drama in a University City (2008)
• Wearing the Trousers: Fashion, Freedom and the Rise of the Modern Woman (2017)
• A Tenpenny Dip in Paradise and other flights of fancy (2022)

John Daniel* - four poetry collections, recently with his own cover paintings:

• Skinning the Bull (2012)
• Lighting the Fire (2015)

Elizabeth de Villiers – Swinford Bridge (1969). [See also our feature page]

Jennie Feldman* - four books translated from the French, most recently Chardin and Rembrandt by Marcel Proust, and three poetry collections:

• The Lost Notebook (2006)
• Swift (2012)
• No Cherry Time (2022)

Jonathan Ferrier* – Arvor’s Schooldays (2013) – children’s paperback, in Post Office

Martin Flatman*

• Where are you going? A Doubter's Path to the Catholic Priesthood (2016)
• Finding Colin (2024): first novel, four years in the making

Eric Gordon* - St Hugh and Eynsham Abbey (1986)

Alan Hardy – Eynsham: A Village and its Abbey (2003)

Martin Harris

• The Changing Faces of Eynsham – books 1-3 (1997-2002)
• Eynsham Carnival Through the Years (2016)

Mollie Harris* aka Martha Woodford of the Archers – From Acre End records the memories of Eynsham residents

Melanie Hayes* - The Ice House

Doreen Hockedy and others* – The Eynsham Cookbook (2010)

Ursula Howard* - Bessie Quinn, survivor spirit (2023)

Tim Jordan*

• Cotswold Barns (2006); we have a local introduction
• Cotswold Stone Barns (2011)

Penelope Lively – The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973) – children’s book, loosely based in Eynsham

Steve Lord* – Walking with Charlie: in the footsteps of the Forty-Five (2003)

Tom McCulloch* (joint-CEO, Community First Oxfordshire)

• The Stillman (2014)
• A Private Haunting (2016)
• The Accidental Recluse (2018): All people remember about Johnny is the Music Hall monkey

Sarah Medina* - 68 books in the areas of English Language Teaching and children's education

Jaqueline Mitchell* - Birds – An Anthology (2020), plus a backlist ranging over blitz spirit, history and quotations

Mary Oakeley* – The Long Timetable (1997) – autobiography

Nick Page* – over 80 (!) books on religious themes, for both adults and children

Steve Parrinder* – The Lost Abbey of Eynsham (2019)

Helen Peacocke*

• Paws Under the Table: dog-friendly pubs and walks from Oxford to the Cotswolds (2009)
• Paws for History: dog-friendly pubs and walks in Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds (2010)

Pamela Richards*

• Eynsham: A Chronicle (2005)
• Eynsham: A Place of Sure Foundation (2011)

Jane Spiro*: poetry and teaching resources include...

• Is a gateway (2018)
• Testimony of Flight (2019)
• Crossing borders: navigating hidden cultures (2022)

Mary J Stewart* - This is where we came in (2002)

Lilian Wright* – St Leonard’s Eynsham: the story of an English parish church (2^nd edn, 1987)

Stephen Yeo* - Lately: first collection of poems (2023)