Another World: The Oxford Years

‘It is all rather irresistible … the book ripples with warmth’
The Times

‘Poignant and lyrical’
Spectator

’Another World attractively maps out the stage in his odyssey between humble pub and broadcasting glory’
Daily Telegraph

‘A poignant read about awakening ambition’
i paper

Having won a scholarship to Oxford University, eighteen-year-old Melvyn Bragg leaves his hometown of Wigton to travel south and immerse himself in a new and golden world.

There, he must find his place amongst the raucous public school boys and the students fresh from National Service, making new friends from varied backgrounds but never forgetting those at home. Over three formative years - as his tutors, his studies and the people around him all expand his horizons and his sense of what is possible - he takes his next steps into adulthood, surrounded by the old, imposing buildings and libraries (and protests and parties) of the ‘city of dreaming spires’.

In this moment of change, for a young man and for the nation, Bragg looks to the past and the future, and as he studies History in his tutorials, so he remembers the histories of family, friends and lovers that shaped his own story.

Alive with insight and tenderness, Another World beautifully captures a decisive step in a remarkable life.

PRAISE FOR BACK IN THE DAY:
‘A memoir bursting with affection … fascinating’ Sunday Times
‘Masterly … I loved it’ Observer
‘Utterly captivating’ Daily Mail