Oxford Blood is a crime novel by Antonia Fraser

Antonia Fraser

Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, DBE , née Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction, best known as Antonia Fraser...

 first published in 1985

1985 in literature

The year 1985 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Isaac Asimov - Robots and Empire*Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale*Jean M. Auel - The Mammoth Hunters*Iain Banks - Walking on Glass...

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The novel begins with reporter Jemima Shore

Jemima Shore

Jemima Shore is a fictional character created by Antonia Fraser, and is portrayed as TV's consummately professional investigative journalist...

 making a television documentary at Oxford University. Most prominent among the undergraduates is Lord Saffron, a wealthy, twenty-year-old heir to a former (British) Foreign Secretary. Soon she discovers that there is a mystery about Lord Saffron's birth and bloodline, based on the confession of a dying midwife. Later another undergraduate is murdered, and a series of attempts are made to kill Saffron, including a night-time attack while punting on the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

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