St Antony's College, Oxford, was founded by Antonin Besse, a French entrepreneur who wanted to establish an international college in France. When this proved impossible, he turned to the University of Oxford, and the college opened its doors to students there in October 1950. Under the inspired leadership of William Deakin, St Antony's became a centre for postgraduate teaching, specializing in area studies. From the beginning it was the most deliberately inter-national of all Oxford colleges, and by 1999 its students were drawn from over forty different countries. It was also the first Oxford college to admit substantial numbers of both men and women. Based on archival materials and personal recollections, this book recounts the college's struggles to develop and fund its ambitious academic programmes. It also describes the changing lifestyle of its students in a period of expanding postgraduate education.
