My Oxford Year: A Novel

Chapter 2 begins with a quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “The Best Thing in the World,” 1862.

Ella brings her luggage through High Street, past students and tourists bustling on narrow sidewalks. Ella will belong to Magdalen College, pronounced “maudlin,” which she chose because Oscar Wilde studied there. She struggles to understand passing people and signs because of differences in accent and spelling. At the check-in office, an old man named Hugh brusquely requests Ella’s information and gives her the keys and cards she needs to get into her room and navigate the school. Ella leaves her bags with Hugh to go eat and passes a man on her way back to High Street, or “the High.” Hugh calls the man a “posh prat.” Outside, Ella finds the Happy Cod Chip Shop, the same chip shop from the article she read at age 13. As Ella crosses the street, a silver convertible driven by a man with long, brown hair rushes past, making Ella jump.

Ella goes into the chip shop and greets the man behind the counter, Simon, before ordering. She tells Simon about her career in American politics and her upcoming year at Oxford studying under Professor Roberta Styan. Simon gives Ella her food and recommends multiple condiments. Ella loves the smell and taste of the food, as well as the newspaper wrapping. A man enters with a woman and they order. Simon calls the man “JD,” and the woman complains that potatoes will make her gain weight. JD retorts that oil, not potatoes, cause weight gain. He notes the devastating effects of the Great Famine in Ireland and makes fun of the woman when she says the Irish should have eaten something other than potatoes. JD challenges the woman to name the year in which the Great Famine started. Ella makes a plate of condiments while eavesdropping thinking JD sounds both elegant and arrogant. She runs into him, spilling her condiments as she turns around. Ella recognizes JD as the driver of the convertible.

Chapter 3 begins with a quote from Edward Lear’s “How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear!” 1871.

JD and Ella look into each other’s eyes, and Ella explains that JD almost hit her with his car. JD gets a gleam in his eyes that tells Ella he is attempting to flirt with her. She is furious, but he will not apologize. He attempts to help her clean her shirt with a towel, but she pushes him away and tries to do it herself, unsuccessfully. She calls him a “posh prat,” and he offers her a 50-pound note, which she rejects. When Ella makes a disparaging remark about JD’s date, JD becomes serious and seems hurt. Ella pays Simon and leaves, shouting back that the Great Famine happened in 1845.

Ella walks back to Magdalen, feeling slightly embarrassed by the chip shop interaction. She hates men like JD, since she knows many men who think their parents’ money can buy respect. Hugh is not in the lodge, but Ella pushes past his office to the staircase that winds up to a top-floor landing. The man from Hugh’s office leaves the room opposite Ella’s, and a man in a robe comes out after him, stopping when he sees Ella. The man claims to be Sebastian Melmoth, which he says is a generational name, but Ella tells him Sebastian Melmoth is Oscar Wilde’s pseudonym, making him retreat into his room. Ella finds her luggage in her room and mentally thanks Hugh, after which she returns her mother’s panicked emails, hesitating to write “I love you.” Ella checks the time, 6:30 pm, and tries to sleep, but someone wakes her by entering her room at seven o’clock.

Chapter 4 begins with a quote from the Rubaiyat of Oman Khayyam, 1859.

Eugenia, Ella’s “scout,” enters the room, and they scream when they see each other. Eugenia tells Ella to go back to bed and starts cleaning her bathroom, but Ella introduces herself. Eugenia says she comes every day except Saturday, Sunday, and bank holidays, and she has been cleaning Sebastian’s room for four years.

Ella gets coffee from a newsstand and makes her way across town to the Rhodes orientation. Along the way, she sees historical landmarks, people from different countries, Oxford merchandise, and the spot where Thomas Cranmer died. She makes it to orientation with only a minute to spare, but Janet Wilkes calls her with Gavin. Janet congratulates Ella on the job, and Gavin brings in a pollster, Priya Banergee. Ella accepts that she will miss orientation. Another Rhodie, Connor, steps out of the orientation on a phone call, and they exchange irritated looks.

Ella and Connor finish their calls at the same time. Connor quit his job in healthcare to get a master’s degree in global health, and he is surprised, like everyone else, to hear that Ella is studying literature. They attend the remainder of the orientation, after which Ella needs to rush to her first English class. Connor gives Ella his phone number.

Ella is late to class, but the professor is not there. A student with pink hair offers Ella a seat, but Ella sees Pink Hair is anxious and avoids pushing her. Sebastian Melmoth enters, but Pink Hair calls him Charles. Charles invites Ella and Pink Hair to drink later. Professor Styan enters but explains that she is not teaching the class. Instead, her teaching assistant, Jamie Davenport, will teach them. Ella recognizes Jamie as JD from the chip shop.

Chapter 5 begins with a quote from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott,” 1831-2.

Jamie opens the class by saying he was surprised to find so much emotion during what he perceived was a repressed period. He took Victorian poetry five years prior. He pauses when he recognizes Ella but pushes on, asking if anyone has questions. Ella asks for a syllabus, and Jamie says there isn’t one, which everyone else seem to know. When Ella says it is an “Oxfordian” thing, another student, Cecelia, corrects her, saying people who go to Oxford are “Oxonians,” embarrassing Ella.

Ella struggles to follow the other students’ discussions, and she realizes she would not have been accepted to Oxford, nor does the Rhodes prove her ability in English classes. Jamie leads the discussion deftly and emphasizes the importance of emotion in poetry by quoting a poem and asking everyone who wrote it. Only Ella knows and raises her hand, though Jamie reminds her that raising hands is unnecessary. Her answer impresses the others. Jamie assigns a short paper and asks the students to pick a poem they like and explain it emotionally. He quotes a Robert Frost poem, and Ella again provides a name and date. Jamie asks to speak with Ella and apologizes for his behavior in the chip shop, saying he received some bad news and had been drinking. Ella accepts his apology and stares at him, marveling at how handsome he is. Jamie jokes that Ella should have given his date more time to remember the date of the Great Famine, and Ella says time was not the issue. As Ella leaves, Cecelia congratulates Jamie on teaching and suggests dropping the class to avoid making Jamie uncomfortable. Jamie says he enjoys seeing “Ce’s” face in the class, which makes Ella drop her bag, distracting them.

Chapter 6 begins with a quote from Richard Watson Dixon’s “Dream,” 1861.

Ella finds Charlie and Pink Hair and joins them. Pink Hair’s name is Maggie, and she and Charlie invite Ella to tea. Maggie notes that “Oxfordian” also refers to part of the Jurassic Period. Charlie jokes about sleeping with Ella, who responds that she knows Charlie is gay. Charlie is surprised Ella does not think he is just eccentric and British, and Maggie and Ella laugh. Maggie needs to run an errand and invites Ella to come with her, so Ella straddles the handlebars of Maggie’s bike. Maggie says Ella can buy a bike from a friend of hers.

Maggie brings Ella across town, where they meet Tom at his apartment. Tom attempts to flirt with Ella, who rejects him, and Maggie reminds Tom that he is selling a bike. Ella buys his bike for 30 pounds. Tom has been at Oxford for six years, but he kept changing majors and eventually stopped attending the school. Now, he is a tutor who helps others apply to Oxford. Ella can see that Maggie has a crush on Tom, and she invites him to tea. Tom agrees, and Maggie and Ella step outside. Maggie confesses her feelings for Tom to Ella, who encourages Maggie to pursue Tom. Maggie is frustrated because Tom flirts with everyone but her. Tom joins them, examines Maggie, and points out some bird poop in her hair.

Chapter 7 begins with a quote from John Clare’s “Love’s Pains,” 1844.

Ella, Maggie, Charlie, and Tom go to tea and see a rower Charlie likes, but Charlie says the rower is not ready to explore his sexuality. Ella tells them how Jamie almost hit her with his car, spilled condiments on her, and apologized to her after class. Maggie sees Cecelia and waves to her, and Charlie and Maggie explain that Cecelia was doing her graduate studies, dropped out, and recently returned. Cecelia comes over but does not seem to like Ella. She greets Maggie and leaves. Ella asks if Cecelia and Jamie are dating, and Maggie and Charlie report that Jamie dates a lot of women but does not stay in relationships. Ella insists she is not attracted to Jamie and only intends to travel and study for the year, but Charlie and Maggie warn Ella about Jamie anyway.

After tea, the group goes to Blackwell’s to buy their books, and Ella thinks about how Maggie, Charlie, and Tom are all fixtures of Oxford in their own ways. After a nap, Ella peruses a poetry anthology for Jamie’s assignment and picks Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “A Man’s Requirements.” The poem discusses the ways a man wants a woman to love him, but he promises only six months of his love in exchange. Ella writes her essay on the poem, thinking it is fitting for Jamie. Ella deletes some emails from her mother trying to set her up with one of her friend’s sons and considers calling her. Since arriving at Oxford, Ella had a class, got a job, made friends, insulted her professor, and learned that she cannot compete with the other students. Ella’s mother lives a sheltered life, and Ella misses her father. Jamie writes that he is looking forward to Ella’s essay, and Ella debates responding to him, picturing him as Mr. September in a lewd Oxford calendar.

A few days pass, and Ella spends most of her time with Maggie. Ella misses American food, and Gavin emails her constantly, calling at least once each day. At the Bodleian Library, Charlie shows Ella around and finds her a copy of the Tatler, which reminds Ella of American reality television. Jamie appears, tells Ella to come to his rooms, and leaves. Charlie thinks Jamie is attracted to Ella.