Marilyn Yurdan was born in Oxford and has spent most of her life in her native county. The Dark Side of Oxford is her 26th local and family history book and she has a Master of Studies degree in English Local History from the University of Oxford. She now lives in Abingdon and her interests include writing, reading, gardening, cookery and taking Continuing Education classes.

The idea for the book came from her research where she quickly learnt that the idyllic City of Dreaming Spires is very far from an accurate view of life in Oxford over the ages. The material used ranges from the 13th century to late-Victorian times and paints a fascinating and sometimes shocking picture of how our ancestors lived and died.