Thank you Ian - how could I forget about CP Snow and Lehman! But I hadn’t heard of the others, so will enjoy investigating those. It seems that the interwar years were a golden age for Cambridge novels.
I was incredibly touched by your heartwarming mention of my novel The Hesitant Architect, dear Ann! Hugely appreciated! I hope you will enjoy it if you should get a chance to read it. The sense of place reflected in your articles was what first attracted me to your posts. Your kindness does all the rest. Keep up the good work!
An interesting set of novels - thank you. Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own (1929), though not a novel, has a nice fictional portrait of Cambridge, renamed as Oxbridge, recognisably set in Trinity and Newnham Colleges. Plus lunch in King's.
Thanks Trudi, that's a great point about the fictionalising of Cambridge colleges in Woolf's essay. And the importance of those very different eating experiences!
Great round-up! I had no idea that AS Byatt and Margaret Drabble were sisters—amazing! Such different styles. Loved THE RADIANT WAY (read it in only about 6 years ago) and POSSESSION is on my all-time favorites list.
Yes, they have a very different style, don't they, Sarah? But interesting that both sisters fictionalise their Cambridge experiences at around the same time. I'm keen to re-read The Radiant Way now, thanks for your enthusiasm!
Drabble: "She [Byatt] was so upset when she found that I had written, many decades ago, about a particular tea set that our family possessed because she had wanted to use it herself. She felt I had appropriated something which was not mine. Writers are territorial and they resent intruders.”
Thank you Ann for mentioning the directory. I hope it will serve both writers focused on books and readers looking for ideas about books on Substack. I have been wanting to read more Penelope Fitzgerald— I’ll add Gates of Angels to my queue.
Perhaps I am speculating wildly about Toni's crush on Ted, Deborah, but I feel cross that Byatt wasn't more generous towards Plath, even while she acknowledged her brilliance as a poet. I think her sympathy for Ted Hughes and their children probably blinded her to his selfishness.
Me too Petya (and sorry this is so belated!). Apart from Mrs Dalloway, I tend to prefer Woolf's Diaries to her novels, but it's interesting that she wanted to write about Cambridge in Jacob's Room. She famously called the university 'that detestable place' because it refused women degrees for so long. Will be interested to hear how you get on!
One could read nothing but Cambridge novels for a year and be well rewarded. As for A.S. Byatt, I tried hard to enjoy THE CHILDREN’S BOOK but in the end found it most rewarding as a sleep aid during a time of persistent insomnia. Half a chapter of that book and I was gone.
That's very funny, Rona. I do remember thinking that particular book by Byatt was a bit over-rated, but I'm willing to have another go with Still Life - and I need something more calming than crime fiction on my nightstand.
Thanks, there are a few there I’ll have to add to the TBR list as well as a few I already know. I do love Case Histories. It’s a shame, I think, that the TV adaptation transferred it to Edinburgh (which admittedly does feature later in the series). I think the academic atmosphere was an important element in Case Histories, especially the deference given to the ‘great work’ of the father (spoiler alert: it wasn’t really).
The college atmosphere is well captured in Jill Paton Walsh’s books too.
I wonder if Kate Atkinson was thinking of anyone in particular when she was sceptical about the father's scholarly achievements... maybe based on a few academics she knew. The Paton Walsh book sounds very interesting, it's moving up my reading list!
I expect you're aware of the Jill Paton Walsh—Dorothy L Sayers connection: Walsh completed an unfinished Wimsey novel, and then, if I recall correctly, produced another from Sayers's rough notes and added a couple more of originals. So we have a close link between these Cambridge novels and 'Gaudy Night', which must be up there in any list of of Oxford novels.
I was quite tempted to add Gaudy Night in here, Jon, as it's such a brilliant insight into an 'Oxbridge' women's college in the 1930s. Thank you for reminding me of Paton Walsh's connection to Sayers - and the Cambridge/Oxford connections through their literature! So good.
Another long reading list for me. My nightstands - I now have two - are already so filled with books I’ve bought on your recommendations that I have to hold back. I read the Byatt article, and you can just feel the envy burning in her, decades later. Thanks, as always, for sharing your insights into these writers’ lives, along with their work.
There are two books on this list that I will need to order ASAP. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for including me in your round-up. It is so very kind of you. Thank you!
Love some of the films set in Cambridge - e.g. ‘The Theory of Everything’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ (about the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787524/
Yes, it would - thank you, William. I will add it to my 'Cambridge memoir' list (and want to read it again). Apart from everything else, the title is very memorable, and a reminder of undergraduate merriment that month.
Thank you, Ann. What a great post, and so many favourites there. Plus, some new ones to explore. Though I don't often read newer fiction, I do love Nicola Upson’s books. And thanks so much for the mention! 🤎
Thanks Victoria, I want to read more of Upson's books. She has done a great job curating the UL exhibition (and it's good to see 'popular fiction' celebrated in such a highbrow place!)
You could add the following Cambridge novels to your list:
Joseph Gordon MacLeod, Overture to Cambridge (1936)
Shane Leslie, The Cantab (1926) {The King's archive has an annotated copy, with all the characters identified)
E.F. Benson, David of King's (1924)
Sarah Campion, Cambridge Blue (1937)
C.P. Snow, The Masters (1951)
Rosamund Lehmann, Dusty Answer (1927)
(26 April) Thanks again, Ian, for your excellent suggestions. I have added a little more about them into my original post (the joys of re-editing!).
Thank you Ian - how could I forget about CP Snow and Lehman! But I hadn’t heard of the others, so will enjoy investigating those. It seems that the interwar years were a golden age for Cambridge novels.
I was incredibly touched by your heartwarming mention of my novel The Hesitant Architect, dear Ann! Hugely appreciated! I hope you will enjoy it if you should get a chance to read it. The sense of place reflected in your articles was what first attracted me to your posts. Your kindness does all the rest. Keep up the good work!
My pleasure, Maria! I'll suggest to the university library that they get a copy... and thank you for your own kind words.
Oh, how very kind of you. Thank you so much, Ann! That would be a dream come true...
An interesting set of novels - thank you. Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own (1929), though not a novel, has a nice fictional portrait of Cambridge, renamed as Oxbridge, recognisably set in Trinity and Newnham Colleges. Plus lunch in King's.
Thanks Trudi, that's a great point about the fictionalising of Cambridge colleges in Woolf's essay. And the importance of those very different eating experiences!
Great round-up! I had no idea that AS Byatt and Margaret Drabble were sisters—amazing! Such different styles. Loved THE RADIANT WAY (read it in only about 6 years ago) and POSSESSION is on my all-time favorites list.
Yes, they have a very different style, don't they, Sarah? But interesting that both sisters fictionalise their Cambridge experiences at around the same time. I'm keen to re-read The Radiant Way now, thanks for your enthusiasm!
And your post made me want to reread Possession!
Yes, Possession is one of my all-time favourites too...
Thanks Roselle, I think it must be her best! Very memorable.
Forgot to say thank you for including me in your bookish round-up! 💕
You're so welcome, I enjoy your posts very much.
I believe they fell out, didn't they? Over a fictional teapot?
That’s a story I’d like to hear!
This is all I can find...
Drabble: "She [Byatt] was so upset when she found that I had written, many decades ago, about a particular tea set that our family possessed because she had wanted to use it herself. She felt I had appropriated something which was not mine. Writers are territorial and they resent intruders.”
Thank you Ann for mentioning the directory. I hope it will serve both writers focused on books and readers looking for ideas about books on Substack. I have been wanting to read more Penelope Fitzgerald— I’ll add Gates of Angels to my queue.
I was much amused to read of AS Byatt's antipathy towards Sylvia Plath and can't help think you might be right!
Perhaps I am speculating wildly about Toni's crush on Ted, Deborah, but I feel cross that Byatt wasn't more generous towards Plath, even while she acknowledged her brilliance as a poet. I think her sympathy for Ted Hughes and their children probably blinded her to his selfishness.
I don't think it reflects terribly well on her, though I can imagine how charismatic Hughes was and how he would inspire such devotion.
I have been thinking about doing an author deep-dive on Virginia Woolf and I think this post may have convinced me to finally do it.
I am so glad we have met "on the internet"! 🤓📚❤️
Me too Petya (and sorry this is so belated!). Apart from Mrs Dalloway, I tend to prefer Woolf's Diaries to her novels, but it's interesting that she wanted to write about Cambridge in Jacob's Room. She famously called the university 'that detestable place' because it refused women degrees for so long. Will be interested to hear how you get on!
One could read nothing but Cambridge novels for a year and be well rewarded. As for A.S. Byatt, I tried hard to enjoy THE CHILDREN’S BOOK but in the end found it most rewarding as a sleep aid during a time of persistent insomnia. Half a chapter of that book and I was gone.
I found the same thing when! Also with her Biographer’s Tale, which is a shame. I loved Possession so much!
That's very funny, Rona. I do remember thinking that particular book by Byatt was a bit over-rated, but I'm willing to have another go with Still Life - and I need something more calming than crime fiction on my nightstand.
Thanks, there are a few there I’ll have to add to the TBR list as well as a few I already know. I do love Case Histories. It’s a shame, I think, that the TV adaptation transferred it to Edinburgh (which admittedly does feature later in the series). I think the academic atmosphere was an important element in Case Histories, especially the deference given to the ‘great work’ of the father (spoiler alert: it wasn’t really).
The college atmosphere is well captured in Jill Paton Walsh’s books too.
I wonder if Kate Atkinson was thinking of anyone in particular when she was sceptical about the father's scholarly achievements... maybe based on a few academics she knew. The Paton Walsh book sounds very interesting, it's moving up my reading list!
I expect you're aware of the Jill Paton Walsh—Dorothy L Sayers connection: Walsh completed an unfinished Wimsey novel, and then, if I recall correctly, produced another from Sayers's rough notes and added a couple more of originals. So we have a close link between these Cambridge novels and 'Gaudy Night', which must be up there in any list of of Oxford novels.
I was quite tempted to add Gaudy Night in here, Jon, as it's such a brilliant insight into an 'Oxbridge' women's college in the 1930s. Thank you for reminding me of Paton Walsh's connection to Sayers - and the Cambridge/Oxford connections through their literature! So good.
Another long reading list for me. My nightstands - I now have two - are already so filled with books I’ve bought on your recommendations that I have to hold back. I read the Byatt article, and you can just feel the envy burning in her, decades later. Thanks, as always, for sharing your insights into these writers’ lives, along with their work.
There are two books on this list that I will need to order ASAP. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for including me in your round-up. It is so very kind of you. Thank you!
You're very welcome, Despina. Look forward to hearing more about the books you enjoy.
And, though only briefly, one of my favourite novels Warlight by Michael Ondaatje - a section on the famous 'nightclimbers'
Thank you Janey, will add that one to my list!
Ooh, Air and Angels, by Susan Hill!
Highly recommend!
Love some of the films set in Cambridge - e.g. ‘The Theory of Everything’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ (about the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787524/
Oh thanks James, that could be another interesting round-up! I do think of Chariots of Fire every time I walk through Trinity's Great Court.
Not a novel, but Clive James’s May Week Was in June would be a nice addition to a list like this.
Yes, it would - thank you, William. I will add it to my 'Cambridge memoir' list (and want to read it again). Apart from everything else, the title is very memorable, and a reminder of undergraduate merriment that month.
Thank you, Ann. What a great post, and so many favourites there. Plus, some new ones to explore. Though I don't often read newer fiction, I do love Nicola Upson’s books. And thanks so much for the mention! 🤎
Thanks Victoria, I want to read more of Upson's books. She has done a great job curating the UL exhibition (and it's good to see 'popular fiction' celebrated in such a highbrow place!)