Class and Cloister

A collection of letters that provide a vivid picture of student life at the University of St Andrews.

"the book is a homage to St Andrews in all its glory" --- THE SAINT.

Encounter a culture of arcane traditions and elite parties.
Enter a world increasingly fraught with class conflict.
Savour the scandal and the gossip.
Follow the crises of faith, sexuality, and sanity as students emerge from closets and cloisters.

"A touching and heartwarming tribute to life in St Andrews, McCormick perfectly captures the complexities of being a student. A must-read, indeed." --- THE SAINT.

This is the private correspondence of public schoolboy Julian Arnaud, decadent addict Caspar Dixon-Bailey, Kelvin Digby the Zealot, Socialist "Red" Liam Duffy, Rugby star Antony Reece, Mother Ailsa Lockhart, confidant Anne Brodie, randy philosopher Dr Lionel Blackthorn, matchmakers Rhona Ballantyne and Morag Strachan, queer Yankee Boyd R. Burrows Jr., field sport enthusiast Hamish McTaggart, and many more.

"McCormick's characters all seem totally genuine." --- THE SAINT.

Ian McCormick, M.A. (St Andrews); PhD (Leeds), served as a Professor in the School of the Arts at the University of Northampton. He has published in various fields: sexuality and gender studies; modern and postmodern literature; teaching and learning strategies; drama education and critical theory. Awards and Prizes: King James VI Prize (St Andrews); Lawson Memorial Prize (St Andrews); British Academy Studentship (UK). Ian's work has been featured on the BBC (Radio and TV); in the Times Literary Supplement, The Observer, The Guardian, Time Out (London), and in academic journals. Dr McCormick organized two major international conferences for the British Society for Eighteenth-century Studies (St John's College, University of Oxford) and two International Community Film Festivals. He lives in Birmingham.