This new short history of King’s College tells its story from the magnificent plans formed by King Henry VI, which began to take shape in 1441, to the present day.
It is the story of the first royal foundation in Oxford or Cambridge, a college which kept its peculiar status by asserting its links with Eton College and its independence of the University of Cambridge until the reforms of the late 19th century.
Today the College is best known in the wider world through its broadcast Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at Christmas, and its iconic Chapel. The history of the Chapel and its services plays a significant role in Our College Story.
But it is also the college of John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Alan Turing and Zadie Smith, all of whom were strongly attached to King’s and its history. And King’s came in the 20th century to identify itself with free-thinking, an innovative Research Centre, and an informal and close relationship between dons and students.
Written in a lively and often humorous style, the book has eight illustrated plates, showing plans, personalities and the famous buildings.
There are seven chapters:
The King’s King’s
The Kings’ Chapel
Royal Reformations
Uncivil Wars
Old Corruption
The New King’s
Story’s End