Special Interest Event
Every spring Christ Church hosts our Special Interest Event, where a group of specialists discuss the chosen topic in a series of lectures during the four-day event.
Death and Detection: Exploring Golden Age Crime Fiction
Golden Age detective fiction is iconic. Written mainly between the 1920s and 1940s, and drawing on the success of Sherlock Holmes, it has outlived much writing of greater literary pretensions — Agatha Christie continues the best-selling author of all time — and continues to inspire films, TV series and interactive events.
Stories by Christie and her contemporaries typically feature distinctive settings — cruise ships, Riviera resorts, country houses, English villages — and a limited group of suspects. Clues are carefully planted amongst red herrings, readers are invited to play an active role in solving the mystery alongside the detective, and the solution is meant to be fair, though what constituted 'fairness' was hotly debated.
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Even after we find out whodunit, such fiction rewards closer study. Detectives such as Christie's Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown display their authors' deep understanding of human psychology. Depictions of ordinary lives disrupted by crime make detective novels a rich resource for social historians, while imaginary murder methods have inspired real-life advances in the field of forensic medicine.
After the devastations of the First World War detective fiction satisfied a desire for order; stories almost always end with the truth revealed and justice restored, as echoed within present-day 'cosy crime'. Yet they do not shy away from searching moral quandaries; detectives act in the service of justice but are acutely aware of the law's limitations. Conversely, the attention given to the criminal mindset anticipates the turn to psychological thrillers in the late 20th century.
Oxford's strong association with crime fiction started with such novels as Sayers's Gaudy Night (1935); Sayers' father was the choirmaster at Christ Church, and J.I.M. Stewart, who wrote under the name 'Michael Innes', was an English tutor there, making it a felicitous location for this Special Interest event. Join leading experts in the field to find out why Golden Age detective fiction continues to stimulate and delight: magnifying glasses optional, little grey cells compulsory.
- Brochure download coming soon!
We are running an early bird promotion fixing the 2026 prices! Book by 15th April 2026 to secure these prices! The programme fee is £799.00 per person and the en-suite supplement is £110 per room.
The fee includes the full lecture programme, three nights’ accommodation, all meals, dinner wines and refreshments as timetabled. Gratuities are not expected.
Full payment must be made at the time of booking.
A full refund [subject to an administration fee] will be offered in the event of cancellations made up to and including 60 days prior to the start of the event. No refunds will be offered after this time.
All monies are held by Christ Church. Please direct enquiries to: Special Interest Event, The Steward’s Office Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP Tel: +44 (0)1865 286996 Email: specialinterest@chch.ox.ac.uk