Patrick Skene-Catling

An unprincipled Principal

Brian Martin’s new novel revolves around the scandals lurking at the heart of a respectable Oxford college

issue 17 March 2018

‘Dreaming spires’? Yes, but sometimes there are nightmares. Brian Martin, awarded the MBE for services to English literature, is at home in Oxford, where he spent most of his career teaching, and seems to know all about the professional and psychological complexities of the university. Holt College, his fourth novel, written with dedicated probity and Baedeker thoroughness, is a suspenseful tragedy without a hero — just a few men and women who mean well.

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