The city of Oxford is in south east England with a population of some 165,000 people, and is the county town of Oxfordshire. The city is culturally very distinguished, and because of this has appeared in many novels, movies and TV programmes.

Oxford is featured in the novel Jude the Obscure which was written by Thomas Hardy and published in the year 1895. In the novel, the city is called Christminster but is certainly Oxford to those who know the town well.

The Scarlet Pimpernel, the adventure novel and stage play published in the year 1905, features Oxford. Written by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, it is set during the French Revolution and is a predecessor to the many masked hero stories that followed like Zorro, Batman, Spiderman, Ironman and Catwoman. Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford Love Story is the name of a novel published in the year 1911 by Max Beerbohm. It is about the lives of students at Oxford University, and has been ranked among the hundred best twentieth century novels.

The novels in the Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L Sayers are world famous. One of these novels, Gaudy Night, published in the year 1935, features Oxford. Brideshead Revisited is a novel by Evelyn Waugh that was first published in 1945 and features Oxford in many scenes. The novel went on to become a hugely successful TV series and movie. The TV series featured Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews and Diana Quick.

A Question of Upbringing, published in 1951, is the first novel of a twelve volume collection called A Dance to The Music of Time by Anthony Powell. With scenes set in Oxford the novel explores the lives of a group of boys as they grow up, and deals with many philosophical issues. The contrasting worlds of Oxford University and working in a factory are explored in the novel Second Generation which was written by Raymond Williams and first published in the year 1964.

Young Sherlock Holmes is a mystery and adventure movie released in 1985. Produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie is based on characters that were developed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and features scenes set in Oxford. All Souls, a novel by the Spanish writer Javier Marías was published in 1989 and is set at Oxford University.

The Children of Men by PD James was published in 1992 features an Oxford don. It was made into a movie starring Clive Owen and Julianne Moore. Doomsday Book is a science fiction novel that features Oxford University. Written by Connie Willis, the novel was published in the year 1992. As part of a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials was published in 1995 and features college life in Oxford.

All of the seven Harry Potter movies to date have featured Oxford. The movies are based on novels published by JK Rowling between 1997 and 2007. They describe the adventures of the young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione who are all studying to be wizards at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.