John Martin Frederick Wright offers a lively account of Cambridge University in Alma Mater; Or, Seven Years at the University of Cambridge. Published anonymously in 1827, Wright's two-volume work captures the triumphs and tribulations of undergraduate life at Cambridge, based upon his own years as an aspiring mathematician at Trinity College. This first volume covers Wright's first two years, weaving vivid sketches from lectures, chapel, and the Wren Library together with copies of actual examinations in classics, mathematics, and metaphysics. Wright dedicated his career as a writer and private tutor to helping students succeed at university, and Alma Mater is designed to offer parents and aspiring students insight into the preparations, intellectual as well as financial, necessary for achievement. A spirited defence of Cambridge traditions in the face of broader educational reforms, Alma Mater also brings to life a period of intense intellectual activity in British mathematics.
