Cambridge: Treasure Island in the Fens (Mandarin Edition)

MANDARIN EDITION

Cambridge is much admired. Yet the admiration of those who live there, visit or were educated at the university is not always matched by an equivalent knowledge. Cambridge: Treasure Island in the Fens bridges that gap delightfully.

This study of both the town and the university reveals why some of the scholars fleeing from Oxford in 1209 settled in Cambridge and not in one of the cathedral cities with a more established reputation for learning. It shows both how the scholars overwhelmed the prosperous trading community of Cambridge through the astonishing privileges granted by the state and how the monasteries influenced the university up to the Reformation.

The colleges have amassed great wealth over the years. How it was acquired and retained is explained, as is how it was spent: not only on education but also on great architecture and vast gardens.

The exceptional contribution of women to the university’s development as founders, and their more recent roles as student and researcher, are explored. So, too, are the important achievements of the university’s scientists. The impact that other countries and visitors from overseas have made on the university, as well as, conversely, the role that Cambridge has had in shaping the wider world, are topics of great interest that are generally little-explored; they are discussed here.

Not everything about Cambridge is weighty and intellectual, however: student misbehaviour, along with the traditions of university sport, which extend back to the Tudors, are all given their due. Finally, the book reveals the deep imprint the university and town have made on the nation’s culture.

With its themed chapters, Cambridge: Treasure Island in the Fens is a very different ‘Cambridge book’ which will appeal to graduate, citizen and visitor alike.

为什么在距今八百多年的1209年，会有一批学者从牛津搬到剑桥定居？大学和小镇经过了怎样的争夺才确了立今天的格局？剑桥大学的各个学院是如何建立的，各有什么特点？为什么说修道院对剑桥有至关重要的影响？从古至今，财富一直是剑桥大学学术独立的基础，这些财富是怎样获取并维系的？剑大有哪些风云人物，又有何种娱乐消遣？这些天之骄子的恶作剧和校园传说有哪些？剑桥大学与女性又有什么特殊关系？……所有这些问题，都会在本书中得到解答。　　全书中包含60余幅别具风情的素描，与作者循序渐进、款款讲述的风格相得益彰。全书18章，分主题讲述剑桥的历史与现在，宏观与微观，剑桥的人、事，以及一草一木。　　剑桥不仅仅是大学，更是一座小镇，是沼泽中的一颗明珠。它不仅仅属于剑桥、属于英国，更属于世界上所有仰慕热爱剑桥的学子与普通人。