If Hollywood wanted to make a film about Oxford University, the casting team would have to find someone to play Jeremy Catto. Born in 1939, this composite of Goodbye Mr Chips, Porterhouse Blue, and C.P. Snow was the quintessential Oxford don. A gifted teacher, noted scholar, and devoted college man, he enjoyed the most extraordinary network and seemed to know everyone: he was friends with Bryan Ferry, became Harold Macmillan’s drinking companion, taught Princess Margaret her family’s history, had a part to play in General Pinochet’s extradition trial and was even rumoured to be a spy. But he was no mere caricature. Over four decades, he shaped the minds and characters of generations of men and women who went on to prominent roles at Westminster, in the City, in the Church, and in the world of academia. In 2018, his memorial service was attended by over 500 people and his death marked the end of an era in British social, political and academic life. “Mr Vaiani…proves to be a deft biographer in his first book. He has interviewed a stellar cast of academics, diplomats, bankers and politicians whom Catto mentored to produce a remarkably comprehensive portrait…He has made a distinguished contribution to the genre of biographies of the important people who taught us…” Jamie Blackett, Country Life “Vaiani has collected the reminiscences of scores of successful pupils who had Catto as their mentor. The resulting volume is grateful, tender, funny and informing…” Richard Davenport-Hines, The Spectator “... An affectionate and well-researched biography…” Alexander Larman, The Guardian “I loved the biography. Beautifully written and very funny and moving.” Harry Mount, The Oldie , Editor “Vaiani adroitly captures the texture of upper-middle-class Tyneside life in the middle years of the last century…[and he]…has collected anecdotes and recollections from men (and one or two women) who have succeeded in every imaginable walk of life, and all of them speak with unfeigned feeling about how a single languid don, armed with alcohol, made them see the world differently…” Daniel Hannan, The Oldie “…A well-researched, emphatic and insightful biography…” William Whyte, Literary Review "A wonderful tribute and a great read!" Lord Murphy (former Northern Ireland Secretary) "Jeremy’s story is a good and heart-lifting one... Once I picked up the book, I couldn’t put it down and completed it in a couple of days." Nigel Biggar (author of Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning ) “ I found the book especially fascinating because Jeremy lived an exciting and varied life, of which I only knew a small part. I read the book, cover to cover, in one day.” Philip Baldwin, OX Magazine " I greedily devoured this book about one of Oxford's wittiest and most stylish dons. Heartily recommended. " Giles MacDonogh (author of Hitler's Gamble) ". .. A lost version of university life...An affectionate biography...And a fitting tribute to a man who loomed large in many spheres of Oxford’s recent history.. ." Nick Sewry, Times Literary Supplement " The biography surpassed my expectations...It was delightful to be transported back to Jeremy’s rooms in Oriel Street...It was like spending an evening again in his company and hearing the background recordings of Marlene Dietrich singing Lili Marlene, John Betjeman, Edith Piaf, Brian Ferry, and later the Buena Vista Social Club. " Andrew O'Shaughnessy, Professor of History, University of Virginia David Vaiani was educated at Oxford, spent ten years in the corporate world in London, and has taught History at Cranleigh School since 2016. Jeremy Catto, A Portrait of the Quintessential Oxford Don is his first book. His second book, King and Country - The 1933 Student Debate That Shook The World, will be published by Bodleian in the autumn of 2026. He is married with a young daughter, and lives in the Surrey Hills.