Oxford, that “sweet city with her dreaming spires,” has always held an irresistible appeal for mystery novelists. Dorothy L. Sayers, Michael Dibdin, Lady Antonia Fraser, and Colin Dexter, to name just a few, have drawn inspiration from the city’s historic colleges and venerable traditions, while the lush scenery and majestic quads have served as the backdrop for some of television’s most beloved dramas including “Endeavour,” “Inspector Lewis,” and, of course, “Inspector Morse.” From Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop to Mick Herron’s Down Cemetery Road, the city and its storied history have produced a startling catalog of eccentric sleuths and outré crimes. “Oxford has many scholars,” as Inspector Morse ruefully observed, “but not enough policemen.”

Author Daniel Stashower explores Oxford’s literary tradition of murder, while actor Scott Sedar performs readings from classic novels. Settle in with a cup of tea (hold the arsenic) and enjoy an evening of locked rooms, cryptic clues, and enigmatic detectives. As Lord Peter Wimsey might have said, it promises to be “a bally good time.”

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