Broad Street to Brideshead
Join Oxford University student Nancy Gittus for a journey into the heart of a university and city that have shaped some of the world’s greatest literature. From the worried jottings of Samuel Johnson to the fiery sermons of John Donne, Nancy uncovers the way Oxford’s libraries, traditions, tutors, rivalries, and chance encounters left a lasting impression on generations of writers.
Broad Street to Brideshead
Episode Five: Vera Brittain
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In this episode of Broad Street to Brideshead, we explore the life and legacy of Vera Brittain—writer, feminist, pacifist, and one of the most powerful literary witnesses of the First World War. Best known for Testament of Youth, Brittain transformed personal loss into a work that reshaped how war, memory, and women’s experience are written and understood. At the heart of this episode is a conversation with Mark Bostridge, author of Vera Brittain: A Life, who brings fresh insight into Brittain’s Oxford years, her literary friendships, and the moral seriousness that defined both her writing and her public stance.