Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass

One of the most important items held in the Crewe Collection in Trinity College Library is a first edition of Leaves of Grass, a collection of poetry by the American writer Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Whitman’s poems are a celebration of his philosophy of life and his love of nature, rich in both sexual and sensual …

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Trinity College has lent two manuscripts to a fabulous new exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World looks at the imaginative world of the medieval bestiary. A bestiary is a compendium of animals - mythical and real – which usually highlights the religious …

The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man

A previous blog celebrated the 300 year anniversary of the publication of Robinson Crusoe in 1719. From the outset, the popularity of Defoe's novel gave rise to a whole genre of new work known as 'Robinsonade'. This literature employed quintessential elements from Robinson Crusoe such as shipwrecked sailors, pragmatic realists and saved pilgrims. The first …

The Painted Glass Window in the Wren Library

This blog, the next in our series describing the architecture and decoration of the Wren Library, focuses on the painted window. There are 28 arched windows in the Wren Library all the same size, 5.03 x 2.44m. The 13 that run the length of the east and west sides are in plain leaded clear and …