The more gruesome side of history seems to appeal to adult readers as well as children.

Oxford is the latest city to feature in the History Press’s Bloody History series, and the city certainly has plenty of good stories to fit the theme.

Author Paul Sullivan is particularly interested in folklore and embroiders the early history, of which little is known, with an account of Oxford’s ancient mythical beginnings, when it was supposed to have been reduced to ashes by the Romans. He continues with Frideswide’s curse, which strikes blind anyone who enters Oxford with violent intent. His romp through the city’s more gory history ends with the wonderful 1937 story of Oxford Times photographer Johnny Johnson, who shot a wolf which had caused panic after escaping from a zoo. The story made the front pages: ‘Press photographer rids Oxford of killer wolf’.