Background
Julia went to St Hugh's College, Oxford where she studied English with a special emphasis on the medieval and the history of the language. Here, she first became fascinated with the way the English language has developed and the influences that have directed its development. She subsequently gained a PhD at the University of Reading, with an edition of a fifteenth century prose romance - "The Three Kings' Sons", which she still reckons would make a good film.
She has split her working life between writing and teaching. She has taught for both the Oxford universities and at some of the many American university programmes in Oxford. She now concentrates on the American colleges and summer schools for the Department of External Studies at the University of Oxford. Her numerous book titles include:-
- Legendary Beasts of Britain by Julia Cresswell (Shire, 2013)
- The Chambers Dictionary of First Names by Julia Cresswell (Chambers, 2009)
- The Insect that Stole Butter: Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins by Julia Cresswell (OUP, 2009) - see review in The Independent
- The Cat's Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches by Julia Cresswell (Penguin, 2007)
- Naming Your Baby: The Definitive Dictionary of First Names by Julia Cresswell (A & C Black, 2007)
- First Names (Collins Dictionary Of...)
by Julia Cresswell (Collins, 2003)
- The Watkins Dictionary of Angels: Over 2,000 Entries on Angels and Angelic Beings
by Julia Cresswell (Watkins Publishing, 2006)
- From Trojan Horse to Soup Dragon: Collins Dictionary of Allusions by Julia Cresswell (Collins, 1997)
- Bloomsbury Dictionary of First Names by Julia Cresswell (Bloomsbury, 2001)
- Irish First Names (Collins GEM) by Julia Cresswell (Collins, 1999)
- The Guinness Book of British Place Names by Julia Cresswell (with Fred MacDonald, 1993)
She is married and has one son, Alexander, who is a budding author himself and already has two works in print. She lives in North Oxford. She may be contacted at julia.cresswell@ntlworld.com.
