Cambridge in the 1830s
Cambridge in the 1830s: The Letters of Alexander Chisholm Gooden, 1831-1841
Jonathan Smith
Christopher Stray
Series: History of the University of Cambridge
Copyright Date: 2003
Edition: NED - New edition
Published by: Boydell and Brewer,
Pages: 234
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt14brr92
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Book Info
Cambridge in the 1830s
Book Description:

The writer and recipient of these engaging letters, 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 169 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

eISBN: 978-1-84615-034-0
Subjects: History
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-iv)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. v-v)
  3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (pp. vi-vii)
  4. INTRODUCTION
    INTRODUCTION (pp. 1-17)
    Christopher Stray

    Most of the 170 letters in this volume¹ come from the last six years of the life of Alexander Gooden, who died in 1841 aged twenty-three, when on the point of returning from Germany to England to sit the fellowship examination at Trinity College, Cambridge. After several years at the new University of London, he had entered Trinity as an undergraduate in 1836, and graduated as Senior Classic (top of the first class in the Classical Tripos) in 1840. In the Trinity fellowship examination of that year he failed to gain a place, but was confidently expected to succeed in...

  5. EDITORIAL NOTE
    EDITORIAL NOTE (pp. 18-18)
  6. THE LETTERS
    • Youth, 1831–36 letters 1–22
      Youth, 1831–36 letters 1–22 (pp. 19-49)
    • Freshman, 1836–37 letters 23–54
      Freshman, 1836–37 letters 23–54 (pp. 50-99)
    • Junior Sophister, 1837–38 letters 55–79
      Junior Sophister, 1837–38 letters 55–79 (pp. 100-130)
    • Senior Sophister, 1838–40 letters 80–107
      Senior Sophister, 1838–40 letters 80–107 (pp. 131-164)
    • Alexander Gooden BA, 1840–41 letters 108–64
      Alexander Gooden BA, 1840–41 letters 108–64 (pp. 165-214)
  7. Epilogue letters 165–70
    Epilogue letters 165–70 (pp. 215-220)
  8. INDEX
    INDEX (pp. 221-232)
  9. Back Matter
    Back Matter (pp. 233-233)