A literary history of Cambridge

the long version

At Cambridge Milton was whipped and Wordsworth got drunk, Tennyson met Arthur Hallam, and Ted Hughes met Sylvia Plath, Macaulay was hit by a dead cat and Henry James was nearly concussed by a punt pole. Nowhere in England outside London is richer in literary associations than Cambridge, yet this is the first complete history of creative writers in the town and University. First published in 1985, the 1995 revised edition contains much new or corrected material and a new introduction by Peter Ackroyd. Graham Chainey begins with the legends that surround Cambridge's foundation, and traces through the centuries a crowded story rich in engrossing and often amusing incident. Here are the great names that have brought Cambridge fame throughout the world, and many lesser writers not usually linked with the place who have contributed to its history or have been affected by it - for better or worse. Besides discussing those born or educated in Cambridge and those who have taught there, Graham Chainey describes memorable visits by Dr Johnson, Oscar Wilde and Sherlock Holmes, among many others. The final chapters take the story up to the present day and give a picture of a literary city that in this century has produced A. A. Milne as well as E. M. Forster, the Bloomsbury Group as well as Beyond the fringe, and not only Rosamond Lehmann, Thom Gunn, and David Hare, but also P. D. James, Tom Sharpe and Salman Rushdie.