Well it’s just under 48 hours until I head to off to Lucy Cavendish College for ‘Women’s Word 2011’. I mentioned this a while ago to you all when I posted ‘Why Men Don’t Read Books By Women?’ a while ago (how many of the books in that picture did I get around to reading, erm, five with a stab at a sixth – though I have read lots of other books by women since then including the Orange longlist). Well the weekend is now almost upon us and I do hope that some of you will be popping by to see me and a very lovely panel discussing that very thing on Sunday. I will also be reporting back from all the other events that are taking place over the weekend which I am very excited about too. In the meantime though I thought I would ask you a book based question involving the very city that’s hosting this event…
…Cambridge! You see as I am going to be staying in this wonderful city I was if any of you knew of any books set in there? I have only been to Cambridge once, years ago, so I am looking forward to getting to walk the streets finding bookshops in between seeing the various talks and author events. So I wondered if you knew of any novels with Cambridge as a setting as it might add to the magic of the weekend. Can you think of any?
I also wondered if you could recommend any tomes that I might have in my TBR that should be taken as I have two 4 hour train journeys which make for some perfect reading time. So tomes and books about Cambridge would be lovely, and feel free to add any further comments to the ‘why don’t men read books by women’ debate here too. Oh and of course let me know if I will be seeing you! Thanking you in advance.
I have recently read two detective stories by Alison Bruce set in Cambridge. First one, a bit iffy, but second much better and she is hitting her stride. Cannot think of any others. I hope you have a great time.
Two lovely bookshops I always checkc out when in Cam are The Haunted Bookshop and G David – both are more or less opposite each other in a tiny little back avenue off the market square. Google for the right addy
Suggest the Mapp and Lucia books for our train journey, plus The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie.
Tom Sharpe’s Porterhouse Blue, and the more contemporary (but less hilarious) Night Climbers by Ivo Stourton. Enjoy Cambridge!
Isn’t Case Histories, the first of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie books, set in Cambridge? Not necessarily a book that would add to the magic of your weekend but always a good read. For a more academically-focused sampling, there’s always Porterhouse Blue and I quite enjoyed Mary Beard’s It’s a Don’s Life. I’ve also got Rosy Thornton’s Hearts and Minds sitting on my shelf, which is set at a women’s college within the university. I have Oxford and Cambridge: An Uncommon History out from the library right now and it is definitely making me eager to revisit Oxford next time I’m in the UK and hopefully also get over to Cambridge for a day or two.
I have to agree with Elaine’s recommendations for train reading. There’s absolutely nothing better than an Agatha Christie on a long journey and The Moving Finger is a favourite of mine.
Have a wonderful trip!
Susan Hill’s Air and Angels, Rosy Thornton’s Hearts and Minds (as Claire, Captive Reader, says above – it’s great), The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor, The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald – enjoyed them all.
The second volume of M.V. Hughes memoirs, A London Girl of the 1880s, includes a stint she spent at a new teacher’s college in Cambridge. I just finished it and was amused by her statement that men matter more than women–clearly a product of her time. Wikipedia says “Her books are a valuable source on women’s education and women’s work in the late Victorian period; in particular, A London Girl of the 1880s provides an unparalleled portrait of life in a Victorian women’s college”
As Claire mentioned, Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories came to mind. There is another on the edge of my consciousness… hmm. I’ll come back if I think of it.
Have a lovely trip. I wish I could hop over to be in attendance. You’ll do wonderfully.
I lived in Cambridge for several years (as a townie rather than gownie), and I loved the city, preferring it as a city to Oxford which I live near now. Whilst I can think of oodles of Oxford books, I don’t know any Cambridge ones other that Rosy Thornton’s which is mentioned several times already (and was jolly good), so I’m not much help really! You really must take a punt trip down through ‘the backs’ though if you have time – It’s the best way to see awesome views of the colleges, even if uber-touristy.
Judging by the comments above there seems to be a lot of crime fiction set in Cambridge, perhaps over and above what the actual crime rate there might justify. Further examples of such that have not yet been mentioned are Jill Paton Walsh’s books featuring college nurse turned amateur sleuth Imogen Quy (rhymes with “why” apparently). These mysteries are probably quite suited to reading on the train. They have a near contemporary setting but are very much in the style of Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers. Walsh has also completed one of Sayers’ unfinished works, so she is clearly a big influence.
Aside from crime fiction, C. P. Snow’s “The Masters” is a tale of college in-fighting set in a fictional Cambridge college in the 1930s. It is the first in his “Masters and Brothers” series of novels which, if memory serves, eventually ran to double figures. I’ve only read the first two or three so far. “The Masters” was not exactly a page turner, but I’m sure I’ll read it again someday for despite having attended a northern red brick university I’ve always had a taste for Oxbridge-based fiction.
Claire (Captive Reader) mentions the possibility of visiting both Oxford and Cambridge. There was once a railway line linking the two cities. I think it was axed even before the era of Dr Beeching.
have a good tim,e simon ,look forward to your report on it ,all the best stu
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James is set mostly in Cambridge and it would be a perfect travel read.
I have no new ideas but I second Case Histories (but I think you have read it?) and definitely Jill Paton Walsh — the Imogen Quy novels are excellent. I also loved the Penelope Fitzgerald Gate of Angels. Sounds great — hope you have a really good time.
I lived in cambridge, and I was one of those dorks who tried to find books set in the city.
Not sure if you’re still looking for some, but an absolute masterwork is ‘glory’ by Vladimir Nabokov – it’s not *all* set in Cambridge, but the majority is, and Nabokov captures is (and especially the student life) very well.
Tomcat.