The forgotten poet of Fordham

10 December 2019

Handwritten verses from a nineteenth-century Cambridgeshire poet – who died destitute despite royal patronage – have been saved by Cambridge University Library. 

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"The Code Of Honor—A Duel In The Bois De Boulogne, Near Paris", wood engraving by Godefroy Durand

To the death

13 July 2015

Dr John Leigh has written the first book exclusively devoted to the duel in literature. In Touché, he offers a compelling picture of the ways in which novelists, playwrights and poets have used duelling as a trope to reveal the extent of manly valour, trickery and sheer foolishness.

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Carol Brayne

Novel Thoughts #7: Carol Brayne on Charles Dickens and George Eliot

29 June 2015

New film series Novel Thoughts reveals the reading habits of eight Cambridge scientists and peeks inside the covers of the books that have played a major role in their lives. In the seventh film, Professor Carol Brayne explains how being able to experience life as lived by other people through the works of Dickens, Gaskell and Eliot has given a broader perspective to her work.

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Dickens letter

Ever your affectionate Father, Charles Dickens

07 February 2012

A letter written in 1868 by Charles Dickens, the bicentenary of whose birth falls today, to his son Henry, who had newly arrived at Cambridge, reveals a touching concern for Henry’s welfare in matters physical, moral and spiritual.

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