See the hottest books publishing this Summer

Nocturnal Climbing at Cambridge University

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Night Climbers by Ivo Stourton

The Night Climbers

A Novel

by Ivo Stourton
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (8):
  • First Published:
  • Sep 18, 2007, 336 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jun 2008, 336 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Nocturnal Climbing at Cambridge University

This article relates to The Night Climbers

Print Review

Cambridge, the second oldest university in the English-speaking world, is located in the East of England. It is said that it was established by a group of scholars in the early 13th century who left Oxford (which was established in the 11th century) after two of their number were accused of murdering a local and hung by town authorities. Today, Cambridge consists of 31 colleges, of which three are all-female; the last all-male college, Magdalene (pronounced maudlin), started to admit women in 1988. In 2007 the influential Times Higher Education Supplement ranked Cambridge as the fourth best university overall in the world after Harvard, Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley - but first in the natural sciences, biomedicine and arts & humanities.

American readers may be stunned to learn that the cost of a year of education at Cambridge for a British citizen is about 3,000 English pounds (~$6,000). This is in line with other British universities. Student loans are available for the full amount of tuition, and means-tested grants are available to offset living costs. About one-third of Cambridge's income comes from UK government funding for teaching and research, another third from research grants; endowment income contributes about 6%.


The Night Climbers of Cambridge, the much sought after book described in Ivo Stourton's The Night Climbers does exist, but is not as rare or hard to find as described in the book. In fact, a complete copy can be read by clickingthis link. This guide to nocturnal climbing in Cambridge was written under the pseudonym Whipplesnaith and first published in 1937 by Chatto and Windus. Apparently Whipplesnaith is a pseudonym for Noel Howard Symington who wrote the book with the help of several others. A new edition was published by the Cambridge based Oleander Press in late 2007.

Interesting link: Ivo Stourton talking about The Night Climbers.

Filed under Places, Cultures & Identities

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Night Climbers. It originally ran in September 2007 and has been updated for the June 2008 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Busybody Book Club
    by Freya Sampson
    They can't even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Making Friends Can Be Murder
    by Kathleen West

    Thirty-year-old Sarah Jones is drawn into a neighborhood murder mystery after befriending a deceptive con artist.

  • Book Jacket

    Ordinary Love
    by Marie Rutkoski

    A riveting story of class, ambition, and bisexuality—one woman risks everything for a second chance at first love.

Who Said...

When I get a little money I buy books...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

B a L

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.