Jeremy Catto: A Portrait of the Quintessential Oxford Don - Hardcover

by David Vaiani (Author), Alan Duncan (Author)

If Hollywood wanted to make a film about Oxford University, the casting team would have to find someone to play Jeremy Catto. Born in 1939, this composite of Goodbye Mr Chips, Porterhouse Blue, and C.P. Snow was the quintessential Oxford don. A gifted teacher, noted scholar, and devoted college man, he enjoyed the most extraordinary network and seemed to know everyone: he was friends with Bryan Ferry, became Harold Macmillan's drinking companion, taught Princess Margaret her family's history, had a part to play in General Pinochet's extradition trial and was even rumoured to be a spy. But he was no mere caricature. Over four decades, he shaped the minds and characters of generations of men and women who went on to prominent roles at Westminster, in the City, in the Church, and in the world of academia. In 2018, his memorial service was attended by over 500 people and his death marked the end of an era in British social, political and academic life.

Author Biography

David Vaiani was educated at Oxford, spent ten years in the corporate world in London, and has taught History at Cranleigh School since 2016. Jeremy Catto, A Portrait of the Quintessential Oxford Don is his first book. His second book, King and Country - The 1933 Student Debate That Shook The World, will be published by Bodleian in the autumn of 2026. He is married with a young daughter, and lives in the Surrey Hills.