John Sparrow: Warden of All Souls College, Oxford

John Sparrow, Warden of All Souls, was a notable character in post-war Oxford. He was educated in the old-time classical humanist tradition, and this remained his field even as the world about him changed. A man with a brilliant mind, he is often remembered negatively – as a bogeyman to progressives because of his outspoken conservatism – and as a disappointment to those who expected a more solid academic achievement. It was felt that his talents were too widely scattered. Presenting hitherto un