Cambridge In The 1830s: The Letters Of Alexander Chisholm Gooden, 1831-1841 (history Of The University Of Cambridge)

The History of the University of Cambridge: Texts and Studies Volume 5 CAMBRIDGE IN THE 1830s THE LETTERS OF ALEXANDER CHISHOLM GOODEN 1831–1841 Alexander Chisholm Gooden (born 1817) went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1836, having previously been educated at the University of London. A glittering academic career beckoned; he was top of the Classical Tripos in 1840, and in the following year went to Germany to read for a Trinity fellowship, but died tragically early from peritonitis after rowing on the Rhine. The 170 letters between Gooden and his family and friends collected in this volume constitute a rich and hitherto unknown source for student life in Cambridge in the 1830s. They cover a wide range of topics: friendships, local politics, accommodation, clothing and bills, the personalities and vagaries of dons, and Gooden’s health. They also give a detailed picture of his career as a student of classics and mathematics, and, after his examination success in 1840, as a private tutor to undergraduates. The differences between Cambridge and London styles of scholarship caused difficulties for Gooden; they offer the reader an unusual and interesting light on his struggle to succeed at Trinity. JONATHAN SMITH is Archivist at Trinity College Library, Cambridge; CHRISTOPHER STRAY is Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Classics, University of Wales, Swansea The History of the University of Cambridge: Texts and Studies ISSN 0960–2887 General Editor P. N. R. Zutshi Keeper of Manuscripts and University Archives Cambridge University Library 1. The University of Cambridge and the English Revolution, 1623–1688, John Twigg 2. Medieval Cambridge: Essays on the Pre-Reformation University, edited by Patrick Zutshi 3. Gentlemen, Scientists and Doctors: Medicine at Cambridge 1800–1940, Mark Weatherall 4. Teaching and Learning in Nineteenth-Century Cambridge, edited by Jonathan Smith and Christopher Stray CAMBRIDGE IN THE 1830s THE LETTERS OF ALEXANDER CHISHOLM GOODEN 1831–1841 EDITED BY Jonathan Smith and Christopher Stray THE BOYDELL PRESS CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY © Jonathan Smith and Christopher Stray 2003 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner First published 2003 The Boydell Press, Woodbridge in association with Cambridge University Library ISBN 1 84383 010 8 The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK