Autumn in Oxford

A novel by Alex Rosenberg

What It’s About

Tom, a Pulitzer-prize winning historian, escapes the Cold War to teach at Oxford. There he meets and falls in love with Liz, a beautiful married woman. When Liz’s husband is killed, Tom becomes the prime suspect for murder.

What I Liked

• I enjoyed the writing. I appreciate the language Rosenberg used to tell the story – the vocabulary lent gravity to the story.
• While historical fiction isn’t my favorite genre, I loved this subject. I am fascinated by Pulitzer Prize winners, so it was doubly interesting to read about a successful writer, even if Tom is just a fictional character.
• I liked that the story began immediately – the information in the book synopsis isn’t a spoiler because most of the setup happens in the first few pages.
• I enjoyed getting the story from multiple perspectives thus feeling like I had more information than the characters.
• I loved the London and Oxford backdrop for the story to take place.

What I Would Change

• I really wished the story didn’t have to be about adulterous characters. It is hard to root for a love story that has such tawdry beginnings.
• The story was a little longer than I usually like but since I couldn’t decide what, if anything, I would have cut, I have to concede that it wasn’t such a negative.
• I’m still working out how I feel about the ending.

My Rating

4/5 stars. I definitely recommend this to other historical fiction fans.

About The Author

Alex Rosenberg is the author of the novel The Girl from Krakow. He has lived in Britain and has taught at Oxford, where he made the acquaintance of some of the historical figures that play roles in Autumn in Oxford. Rosenberg is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University in North Carolina.

I received a free copy of Autumn in Oxford from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.