BCL MJur Alumni Updates HT 2026

In this video MJur student Niki Giannakou shares her experiences of studying at Oxford and reflects on the impact of receiving a donor funded scholarship.
 

Oxford BCL alumna Christy Theodoulou has published her debut novel, Godless Cosmologies – a literary fantasy shaped in part during her year at Oxford. We caught up with Christy to discuss her time on the BCL, the inspiration behind the book, and the journey to publication.

You completed the BCL in 2023. Looking back, how did your time at Oxford shape you?

My year in Oxford was honestly one of the best of my life. The Law Faculty was wonderful and the course itself was phenomenal – extremely challenging, but in a way that was deeply inspiring. Being surrounded by people who were so excited and enthusiastic about what they were studying created a very special atmosphere.

It’s no coincidence that I finished the first draft of Godless Cosmologies at the end of the course. The roots of the novel pre-date the BCL, but Oxford gave me the environment and confidence to put my fingers to the keyboard and express things I’d always wanted to express through fiction. I remember locking myself away in a graduate study room and finishing the draft. The seeds of inspiration were definitely sown in Oxford.

Are there particular aspects of the BCL you remember fondly?

Absolutely. I took a module in Medieval Law with Paul Brand, who is a true expert in his field and an outstanding teacher. Having classes at All Souls and engaging with such esoteric material felt like being part of a unique group. That intimacy and intellectual curiosity were incredibly energising.

I also loved Incentivising Innovation, taught by Robert Burrell. It took a really practical view of what law can do within the economy – particularly from an intellectual property perspective. I’ve always loved studying Law but I knew I didn’t want to practise. The BCL felt like a natural next step, allowing me to engage academically with the subject at the highest level without necessarily following a traditional legal career path.

Your new book, Godless Cosmologies, is described as literary fantasy. What inspired the story?

The book is very much a passion project and comes from a deeply personal place. I’ve had an inpatient experience with mental health, and while I didn’t initially set out to write about that, parts of it inevitably found their way into the novel. In many ways, that was a liberating experience.

The story follows a boy called Pear whose parents die, and in the aftermath he finds himself in an asylum. He escapes into a fantasy world beneath the sea as a way of coping with his grief – but the fantasy becomes darker as he engages with a fellow patient who has delusions of her own. The novel ultimately explores how much of himself he must give up to sustain an imagined version of his life.

What was the publication process like, and where can people buy the book?

The publishing process is incredibly specialised. I prepared cover letters and submitted the manuscript to publishers and agents. After sending out the first batch, I realised I needed to do more work on the writing, so I reworked and refined the manuscript further.

Hawkwood Books came back to me with an acceptance. They’re an independent publisher, which felt right for this novel. Godless Cosmologies is available to buy online through retailers such as Waterstones and Amazon. It’s been a long journey from that graduate study room in Oxford to publication day – but an incredibly meaningful one.