First published 2011
Zuleika Dobson arrives at Oxford's Judas College to visit her grandfather, the Warden, during the excitement of Eights Week. The daughter of a curate and circus performer possesses extraordinary beauty that creates chaos wherever she goes. Zuleika finds herself attracted only to men who resist her charms, yet she searches Oxford hoping to find someone she could truly love. Every undergraduate who encounters her falls desperately in love, including the Duke of Dorset, a magnificent young man who appears to be her perfect match. When the Duke makes a dramatic pledge to sacrifice his life for her, his romantic vow sets off a chain of events that no one anticipates. Zuleika faces the cruel irony of her situation: the very power that draws men to her prevents her from finding the love she craves.
Genres: 20th-century, british-literature, academia, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Oxford, Judas College
Period: Eights Week
336 pages · Hardcover · Crw Publishing