A literary history of Cambridge /

Aside from its detailed and eclectic bibliography, this book cannot fairly be considered a valuable tool for scholars. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile read for the way it permits the curious to eavesdrop on the personal lives of the many literary luminaries who have passed through Cambridge's sometimes-not-so-hallowed halls. With a prose style that at times lapses into excessive opulence, Chainey takes the reader through 800 years of Cambridge literary historical anecdote, which is not to suggest that the author trivializes either the characters considered or the institution as it evolved and came to play an internationally significant role. Chainey begins with an examination of the many myths and legends that surround Cambridge and traces through the centuries an often humorous story that, not so coincidentally, reads like a Who's Who of British literary history. Along the way, we learn the truth behind the rumor of the whipping of Milton at the hands of his tutor in Christ's College, how often Wordsworth got drunk, how Ted Hughes romanced Sylvia Plath, and why Macaulay was hit in the face with a dead cat. The final chapters provide a rich and precisely drawn picture of a literary institution and community that has produced in our century a variety of significant writers. Appendixes, the bibliography, and 65 illustrations add to the book's value. For students of literature with a taste for literary anecdote.-B. Weigl, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus