Publisher's Synopsis
The 'Chalet des Anglais' on Mont Blanc, home to the longest-running university reading party, is a unique survivor from Victorian and Edwardian Oxford, established in 1891 and continuing today. The story of this remarkable institution has never previously been reported. Oxford University on Mont Blanc: The Life of the Chalet des Anglais records the life of the reading parties and of the notable personalities involved in them, including Harold Macmillan and Lord Hailsham. The writers Evelyn Waugh, Rupert Brooke and John Betjeman also feature in the history of the Chalet. The book explores the effects within the background of a collegiate university that this unique institution has had on the lives of those involved. The chalet is a unique lens through which to understand what is meant by a collegiate university and also to illustrate the implications of close student-tutor relationships over the last century.
