Zuleika Dobson

Max Beerbohm's Zuleika Dobson opens with a glittering invasion of Oxford, where Zuleika's arrival throws the university into romantic chaos, social rivalry, and comic disarray. Granddaughter of the Warden of Judas College, she is not simply admired but staged by the city itself: men stare, institutions wobble, and even the cool indifference of the Duke of Dorset becomes part of the spectacle. Beerbohm turns Oxford into a satire of privilege, vanity, and academic pomp, while Zuleika's richly furnished rooms, French maid, and air of restless detachment reveal a woman who lives as performance. The novel traces her rise from obscure governess to celebrated performer, first through a brief entanglement with a clumsy amateur magician and then through triumphant conjuring acts that teach her the real power of applause. Fame carries her from London to Europe and America, where crowds, artists, and powerful men adore her, yet she remains lonely, longing for a man she can admire in return. At Oxford, that longing collides with public comedy and private devotion in a dazzling satire of love, illusion, and self-display, ending in a brilliant confidence trick that exposes both her charm and her conscience. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.