Oxford may seem impossibly old, yet it beats with
fervor and vitality. Its university
attracts the smartest and brightest from all over the globe, and
tourists flood the museums or gape from air-conditioned tour buses.
Yet it’s also home to murder, which is why
Inspector Lewis patrols its streets, inspecting crime scenes and questioning
witnesses.
The TV series serves as a love letter to the city, as
the camera slowly pans past historic buildings, or grants us entry to fabulous
mansions. It makes us feel like we could instantly connect with Oxford, if we spent but a few hours
exploring the literary stomping grounds of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Colin
Dexter.
Yet so many people visit the
town each year that the colleges are barred, and the gates only open to key
cards, those fortunate enough to know someone who belongs there, and of course,
police detectives such as Inspector Lewis.
A few hours spent walking the public paths, and seeing so
much history crammed into so small a place, only makes one hunger for a
second visit, one planned with more forethought. To walk her less traveled paths, to peer deeper into Oxford's beating heart.
For Oxford is full of many mysteries, and not all of those involve murder.
Alas, another time…
Dragon Dave
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