Cambridge in Books

I got an email from the University a few months ago advertisting a book-collecting contest put on by the University Library Special Collections people. I didn’t take it very seriously at first because although I have indeed collected a lot of books since coming to Cambridge, they seemed a bit too much of a hodge-podge to count as a Collection-with-a-capital-C. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much the books I’d accumulated reflected my curiousity about the British landscape, and especially Cambridge. In any case, I loved them–that should count for something, right? So I proceeded to document the accumulation and spin up a little essay (partly from past blog posts) to submit. Inspired, I even bought a few more books…

As it turned out, my collection WAS too hodge-podge to make a big enough impression on the judging panel, who commended my enthusiasm but thought it might be “a little broad,” and didn’t advance it to the shortlist. Ah well, I had fun with it. And I thought I’d share it here. Read on for the essay followed by a descriptive bibliography of the books crammed into my college-issued bookshelf. (Will I actually expand my collection as aspired to in the essay? Well…stay tuned…)

Cambridge: A Sense of Place

Living somewhere is a special privilege. You have time and claim to fill a map in your head with backs and forths and forays. As a place-hunter and detail connoisseur, I relish living in a place as thickly layered and jointed with nooks and crannies as Cambridge and its countryside. After three years, it still thrills me to look up at a five-hundred-year-old bell tower from a narrow street and with a five-minute walk be standing in a marshy fen. People have been building buildings, laying roads, planting gardens here for dizzying millennia—and have been writing about this place for nearly as long. My book collection has grown organically from this same impulse: to know a place through words as well as senses.

Though my bookshelves at home have always been well-stocked, I came to Cambridge with few books. Not long after I arrived, I attended a lecture given by Cambridge Fellow and landscape/nature/place writer Robert Macfarlane. He spoke about his newly published book, Landmarks, which is itself about books: a catalogue of place-based writers and their landscape of words. Intrigued, I promptly picked up Landmarks, and soon found myself (courtesy of G. David’s bookshop) with several more of Macfarlane’s books and the books he pays tribute to. I was so inspired by this new window into Britain’s rich legacy of nature and place writing that I started a place-based blog about Cambridge to practice my own. And, of course, I bought more books.

While my interest started with British nature writing generally, I gravitated toward books with ties to Cambridge, both natural and human. Some of this specificity was deliberate. In my hunt for local places to explore and write about (and out of love for those I’d already discovered), I accumulated local literature and Cambridge guidebooks specializing in the quirky, and the few antiquarian books I’ve acquired are all Cambridge-adjacent. And there was serendipity: as it turns out, Cambridge has drawn many place-writers, Macfarlane not least among them. Helen Macdonald, Tim Dee, and Roger Deakin come to mind, as do Ted Hughes, Gwen Raverat, and Virginia Woolf.

Every book I’ve added to my collection expands my place-heart. Whether I’m following the River Cam to its source or watching a woodcock in Wicken Fen through another’s eyes, books alchemize with my personal experience of the Cambridge landscape into countless new dimensions. The lives and landscapes layered in these pages anchor me in a place I’ll always be learning, even after I leave. My collection still only skims the surface of writing inspired by Cambridge, and I’m determined to dig deeper into its layers of chalk, fen, and brick. I plan to seek out voices from older and more obscure layers as well as iconic writers. Just as my physical explorations of Cambridge have increasingly left the beaten track, I want my book collection to reflect even better the spread of Cambridge writers of who have, in their own ways, loved the place.

Bibliography

Place

Bond, Francis. English Cathedrals Illustrated. George Newnes, Ltd, 1900. 

Description: Hardback. Second and revised edition. Corners and edges banged up, pages yellowed, but binding is solid. Tagline “One hundred and eighty illustrations from photographs.”

Comment: Included for its section on Ely Cathedral (pp 64-75), which details the cathedral’s architecture and its then 800-year history in the Isle of Ely with warm delight.

Downs, Brian W. Cambridge Past and Present. Methuen and Co, 1926.

Description: Hardback. First edition. Wear on binding and pages but otherwise good condition. Includes 16 color plates.

Comment: It’s charming to consider how Cambridge has had so many “presents” chronicled across the centuries, and interesting to note what has changed and what hasn’t since this 1926 instance, which proportionally shared most of today’s past. The writing style shows its age, but is engaging and often jocular, as fun to read as modern guidebooks.

Deakin, Roger. Waterlog. Vintange, 2014 [1999].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Abstract blue ripples painted around a floating figure.

Comment: In swimming through the waterways of the British Isles, Deakin couldn’t exclude the storied River Cam. He goes beyond the familiar to search for a lost spring near Madingley (which I also went looking for with no luck).

Dee, Tim. The Running Sky: A Birdwatching Life. Vintage, 2016 [2009].

Description: Paperback, printed for The Birds and Bees collection by Vintage Classics. Cover: Fine art rendering of a starling on a turquoise background with botanical designs.

Comment: Although each chapter of this book is set in a different bird habitat, spanning the UK and a few places beyond, one chapter features Wicken Fen, one of the most iconic Cambridgeshire nature reserves and briefly home to the elusive grasshopper warbler and the woodcock, both described by Dee.

Evans, A. H. A Flora of Cambridgeshire. Gurney and Jackson, 1939.

Description: Hardback with plastic-covered dust jacket. Some off-coloring and dirt on jacket but otherwise good condition. Includes color map and “Appendix on the Origin and Drainage of the Fens.”

Comment: As a student of plant ecology, I am especially interested in the contents of this book, which places plant species very specifically in the local landscape and comments on native Cambridgeshire ecosystems such as chalk grassland and fen. Some names, habitats, and distributions have changed, but this remains a historically fascinating book representing decades of field work by the author, a Cambridge professor of English History and Economics who was nonetheless a naturalist (actually best known as an ornithologist).

Hughes, Ted. Birthday Letters. Faber and Faber, 1998.

Description: Hardcover with dust jacket. Cover: Textured abstract painting by Frieda Hughes. Comment: A collection of raw and elegiac poetry that springs out of Cambridge, where Hughes met Sylvia Plath. One poem is set down the road from my current house.

Macdonald, Helen. H is for Hawk. Grove Press, 2014.

Description: Paperback, US edition in conjunction with Jonathan Cape. Cover: Woodcut illustration of a perched goshawk with a piercing stare.

Comment: This book was the first Cambridge-based nature writing I encountered before coming to Cambridge, giving me the striking image of the author flying a hawk on a green at Jesus College and hoping not to get in trouble with the porters, as well as raw and beautiful imagery of grief and falconry.

–. Vesper Flights: New and Collected Essays. Jonathan Cape, 2020.

Description: Hardback with dust jacket, first edition. Cover: Woodcut illustration of a swift on a blue background with a satellite dish in the corner.

Comment: Like The Running Sky, this vivid collection is included thanks to an essay on Wicken Fen and a scattering of other references to Cambridge, and as a companion to Macdonald’s other book as a Cambridge-associated nature writer.

Macfarlane, Robert. The Wild Places. Granta Books, 2008 [2007].

Description: First paperback edition. Cover: Closeup of a bird’s webbed footprints in sand. Inscription by previous owner: “Simon…with good memories of our various forets [sic] into “wild” places, Best Wishes, David. Nov 2012.”

Comment: One of Cambridge Fellow Robert Macfarlane’s early popular nature books, The Wild Places starts and ends in Beechwoods Nature Reserve near Cherry Hinton. While other chapters are spread across the UK, Cambridge is Macfarlane’s base and a touchpoint between chapters, bringing in other local nature reserves and farmland around his neighborhood.

–. The Old Ways. Penguin, 2013 [2012].

Description: Paperback. Second edition. Cover: Olive-green line drawing of a hilly landscape with a grass-lined path and farmland.

Comment: Again, Macfarlane travels from Cambridge outward, beginning on the Roman Road in Cambridgeshire and following tracks of all sorts through their landscapes and associations.

–. Landmarks. Penguin, 2016 [2015].

Description: Paperback. Second Edition. Cover: Turquoise woodcut-style drawing of nest-like vegetation framing water and hillside.

Comment: A loving catalogue of landscape writers and words, this book is personally significant as my first introduction to Robert Macfarlane: I picked it up after hearing him speak about it (as well as about Wandlebury Country Park) at a lecture sponsored by Cambridge Past, Present, and Future. The book only touches on Cambridge here and there, including a chapter about Cambridge native Jacquetta Hawkes and one about children drawing imaginative maps at Hinchingbrooke school, but its emphasis on place-based literature spawned several other books in my collection and inspired my own place-based Cambridge blog.

–. Underland. Hamish Hamilton, 2019.

Description: Hardback with dust jacket. First Edition. Cover: Multicolored semi-abstract painting of a holloway framed by wild bare trees.

Comment: Mostly included as a tribute to Macfarlane for his most ambitious book yet, blending a wide range of landscapes and human experiences under the umbrella of the underground; ends in Nine Wells Wood, Cambridge.

Macfarlane, Robert and Jackie Morris. The Lost Spells. Hamish Hamilton, 2020.

Description: Illustrated hardback with dust jacket. First Edition. Cover:  Watercolor of a barn owl against dark blue night sky.

Comment: While a Cambridge setting isn’t explicitly identified, Macfarlane’s poems about creatures and plants, gorgeously illustrated in watercolor by Jackie Morris, could easily be inspired by his encounters with local Cambridge nature. Some of the poems were recorded by the author and illustrator and played as part of the 2021 Winter Lights display at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire.

Newnham College, Cambridge. Newnham College, 2018.

Description: Small limited-edition paperback with glossy cover. Cover: blue watermarked with section of Newnham College’s Clough Gates.

Comment: A collection of historical photographs of Newnham College and its members given to all students who matriculated at Newnham College in 2018. I value this as part of my collection for its iconic, concise, and accessible narrative of a fascinating piece of feminist history.

Raverat, Gwen. Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood. Faber and Faber, 1977 [1952, 1960]. 

Description: Paperback. Condition: Cover creased along spine and corners scuffed, pages yellowed, otherwise good condition. Cover: Ink sketch of a Victorian lady with a pram on pink background.

Comment: A charming, witty, and fascinating classic portrait of turn-of-the-century Cambridge that deserves a place in any collection of Cambridge-related reading (or memoirs generally).

–. Wood Engravings of Cambridge and Surroundings. Ed. Rosemary Davidson. Broughton House Books, 2014 [2003].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Olive green with woodcut illustration of plein air painter on the banks of the River Cam overlooking bridges and punts.

Comment: A collection of iconic and countryside scenes of Cambridge rendered in exquisite, boldly lined wood engravings by the most influential wood engraver in Cambridge history. No accompanying text except for a short preface.

Reeve, F. A. Victorian and Edwardian Cambridgeshire from Old Photographs. B. T. Batsford, 1983 [1976].
Description: Coffee table hardback with dust jacket. Corner slightly scuffed; otherwise good condition. Cover: Black-and-white photograph of women and children posed with basket-making materials in a field.

Comment: Provides a window into Cambridgeshire life, streets, and landscapes during agriculture- and commerce-dominated times. In a different way than Downs (above), the photos show what has and hasn’t changed in the last hundred or so years. For example, Market Square looks essentially the same today, without cows.

Rackham, Oliver. Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape. Weidenfield and Nicholson, 2020 [1976]. 

Description: Paperback. Stylized green, purple, and turquoise print of a bird perched in brambles with trees in the background.

Comment: Venerable Cambridge ecologist Oliver Rackham was the foremost expert on local woods in Cambridgeshire such as Hayley Wood, which he mapped down to the meter. This book includes these and woodlands around the country.

Rackham, Oliver. The History of the Countryside. Weidenfield and Nicholson, 2020 [1986]. 

Description: Paperback. Cover: Stylized, colorful print of a stream running through tree-lined farmland with a rabbit in the foreground.

Comment: Rackham wrote this landmark book with an eye to all of Great Britain, but like Robert Macfarlane, includes and influenced by his home base, where he notes the stark difference from surrounding counties in its more heavily planned, less ancient countryside.

Sheldrake, Merlin. Entangled Life. Vintage, 2021 [2020].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Neon yellow, red and blue drawing of various fungi on a black background. Signed by the author.

Comment: A recent graduate from my department, Sheldrake has won widespread acclaim for his passionate and clear-eyed narrative of the wonder of fungi. His alma mater makes appearances, including in a tale of fermenting cider from Newton’s apples.

Willmer, E. N. The River Cam: A Sketchbook. Orchard Publishing, 2000 [1979].

Description: Paperback. Second edition. Cover: Powder blue with pencil sketch of The Old Granary, Newnham, on the River Cam.

Comment: Though only locally published with cheap binding, this book is invaluable for a place-based collection for its wealth of highly specific information about the topography and history of the River Cam. If I want to know more about a specific stretch of the Cam, this is where I turn first.

Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. Penguin Classics, 2000 [1923, 1945].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Cyanotype portrait of a pensive woman sitting in shadow with hands clasped around knees.

Comment: Feminist classic included due to its origin in lectures given by Woolf at Girton College and Newnham College and its thinly veiled descriptions of Cambridge and “Fernham” College.

Guidebooks

Bennett, Emma. The Cambridge Art Book: The City through the Eyes of its Artists. UIT Cambridge, 2017.

Description: Hardback, small coffee table book. Cover: Colorful paper collage of King’s College from the Backs with a punt.

Comment: Delightful, eclectic collection of local art lovingly depicting Cambridge scenes. I loved it so much I bought several other copies to give to friends.

Doig, Sarah E. and Tony Scheuregger. A-Z of Cambridge. Amberley Publishing, 2019.

Description: Paperback. Cover: Blue with a row of photos representing “Places – People – History.”

Comment: Billing itself as an “alternative local history guide,” this book caught my eye in the Museum of Cambridge gift shop with its alphabetical themes that put a new spin on Cambridge haunts.

Horton, Ros, Sally Simmons, and Guy Snape. 111 Places in Cambridge You Shouldn’t Miss. Emons, 2018.

Description: Embossed paperback. Cover: Cambridge blue with title in large white print around the St. John’s Bridge of Sighs; photo collage on the back.

Comment: Though part of a series that comes across as a tourist trap, the book is full of truly locally sourced hidden gems both modern and historical. I have yet to visit all of them.

Sinclair, Jo. Cambridgeshire: 40 Town and Country Walks. Pocket Mountains Ltd., 2021.

Description: Small glossy paperback. Cover: Cartoon illustration of punts on the Backs.

Comment: Unlike my other guidebooks, this one ventures far into the countryside of Cambridgeshire, drawing my attention to otherwise obscure (to me) villages, nature reserves, and landmarks that I’m eager to search out.

People

Books written by (or about) Cambridge-associated writers on other subjects

Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books, 2016 [2015].

Description: Embossed paperback. Cover: Golden laurel leaves surround the title on a white background with other gold highlights.

Comment: One of esteemed Newnham College alumna and historian Mary Beard’s most popular books.

Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1998 [1859].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Stylized painting of monkeys in a jungle by Henri Rousseau.

Comment: Darwin’s theory-defining classic has roots in his early mentorship by Cambridge botanist John S. Henslow.

Hughes, Ted. Poems selected by Simon Armitage. Faber and Faber, 2004.

Description: Paperback. Cover: Black and white photo of a path leading over a hilly landscape.

Comment: A wide-ranging selection of poems accentuating Hughes’s raw nature-influenced style. Hughes lived in Cambridge as a student and returned later.

Padel, Ruth. Darwin: A Life in Poems. Vintage Books, 2010.

Description: Paperback. Cover: Colorized Victorian lithograph portrait of Darwin with yellow filigree on green background.

Comment: Imaginative poems incorporating fragments of Darwin’s own letters and diaries across his life.

Raverat, Gwen. Gwen Raverat in France. Ed. Rosemary Davidson. Broughton House Books, 2004.

Description: Hardback with dust jacket. Cover: Wood engraving of women field laborers with orange background.

Comment: In the same series as Wood Engravings of Cambridge and Surroundings, this collection comes from Raverat’s time in Vence, France. Includes textual commentary.

Watson, James. The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of The Structure of DNA. Simon and Schuster, 1996 [1968].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Black and white photos of Watson and Crick.

Comment: A memoir with a distinct Cambridge imprint.

Bonus: Books featured in Landmarks

Baker, J. A. The Peregrine, The Hill of Summer, and Diaries: The Complete Works of J. A. Baker. William Collins, 2015 [1967].

Description: Paperback. Cover: Photo of a peregrine falcon with wings and tail splayed against a blue sky.

Comment: Another standard of British nature writing, The Peregrine is a lyrical diary of a man’s encounters with falcons and their landscape in East Anglia.

Deakin, Roger. Waterlog.

Included above

Muir, John. Muir: Nature Writings. Ed. William Cronon. The Library of America, 1997.

Description: Hardback with dust jacket. Description: Black and white photo of Muir perched on a rock in the Sierra Nevada mountains with a black background.

Comment: A collection of several classics by one of the most well-known place writers. Though mostly North American landscapes, one essay recalls Muir’s Scottish youth.

Shepherd, Nan. The Living Mountain. Canongate, 2019 [1977].

Description: Hardback with dust jacket. Cover: purple mountains half-obscured by abstract streaks of lavender, teal and grey outlined in gold.

Comment: The epitome of place-writing, a gorgeous evocation of the Scottish Cairngorms and Shepherd’s personal immersion in them.

The History of the Countryside by Oliver Rackham (included above) is also briefly quoted.