An American in Victorian Cambridge: Charles Astor Bristed's 'Five Years in an English University' Paperback – Illustrated, 21 Nov. 2008

This book for me raised more questions than it answered! Unlike most diaries, I think it was written for publication & it's interesting that he comments that some people go through their education & still come out as themselves which is, I would say, exactly him ie he went to Yale & Cambridge & yet his own personality & drive are still uppermost! It was much more carefully written & thoughtful than I expected & although in perfect English (except for spelling), the style & content is American. He didn't blow his own trumpet but the account didn't make complete sense to me so I've contacted the current Duke of Northumberland by email concerning Hugh Percy, Chancellor of Cambridge University 1840-7, Duke of Northumberland in Astor's day which I'm sure Christopher Stray & Patrick Leary have already done to find out any more!

Bristed's account of his 5 years at Trinity College Cambridge is one of the finest and most detailed accounts of life at the university in the 1840s which has survived. Stray's careful editing and informative footnotes make it an even better volume than the original. Highly recommended.