There are few cities more naturally suited to a literary escape than Cambridge. For centuries, its colleges, libraries and quiet courtyards have provided a backdrop for writers, thinkers and readers; a place where ideas are exchanged, stories begin and an afternoon spent with a book never feels wasted.
At University Arms, that literary spirit is woven into the fabric of the hotel. From author-inspired rooms and suites to our Book Butler and atmospheric Library, reading is not simply an agreeable way to pass the time here, it is part of the experience.
Our shelves continue that tradition with an exceptional seasonal collection of books specially curated in collaboration with Cambridge Literary Festival. Moving between contemporary fiction, nature writing, memoir, biography, history and art, these are books chosen to inspire curiosity and conversation.
Whether you are searching for the novel to accompany a quiet weekend in Cambridge or something entirely new, consider this your introduction to some of the remarkable titles waiting in the University Arms Library.
Nature Writing: A Wilder Way of Seeing
Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane Macfarlane journeys to rivers and landscapes around the world to ask a deceptively simple question: can a river be considered a living being? An expansive meditation on nature, language and our relationship with the planet.
The Wild Life of Roger Deakin by Patrick Barkham A portrait of the much loved writer and environmentalist Roger Deakin, drawing us into his unconventional life, friendships and profound connection with the natural world.
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton An intimate account of the unexpected bond between Dalton and a leveret she rescues and raises during lockdown. Tender, observant and beautifully attuned to the wild.
Craftland by James Fox A journey through Britain told through its traditional crafts and makers, revealing how objects made by hand carry stories of place, history and identity.
Vanishing Landscapes by Bonnie Lander Johnson An exploration of how plants have gradually disappeared from our everyday lives, tracing our changing relationship with the natural world and asking what may have been lost along the way.
The Place of Tides by James Rebanks Rebanks travels to a remote Norwegian island, where an encounter with an elderly woman and her tradition of gathering eiderdown becomes a meditation on work, belonging and a disappearing way of life.
The Ghost of the Mountains by Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi A journey into the extraordinary world of the snow leopard, combining conservation, science and encounters in some of the world's most dramatic mountain landscapes.
The Ritual Year by Kiera Chapman A fascinating exploration of seasonal customs, rituals and traditions, and the ways communities use them to mark the passing year and their relationship with nature.
My Wild City by Neha Sinha A reminder that nature is not confined to remote wilderness. Sinha turns her attention to the wildlife living alongside us, revealing the unexpected natural worlds hidden within cities.
Lives, Art and Memory
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy Roy turns her gaze towards her own life and, in particular, the formidable mother who shaped it, creating a deeply personal exploration of family, memory, love and independence.
Bread of Angels by Patti Smith The poet, musician and memoirist reflects on a life shaped by art, love, loss and creative discovery in this characteristically lyrical work.
Vermeer by Andrew Graham-Dixon An illuminating encounter with one of art history's most enigmatic painters, exploring Vermeer's intimate interiors, remarkable light and enduring mystery.
John & Paul by Ian Leslie The story of John Lennon and Paul McCartney is reconsidered through the intensity of their creative partnership: a relationship that transformed popular music.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang Chang's landmark family history follows three generations of women through a century of extraordinary upheaval in China, bringing vast historical events into intimate focus.
Fly, Wild Swans by Jung Chang Returning to the story begun in Wild Swans, Chang reflects on the decades that followed and her continuing relationship with China, family, memory and home.
On This Spot Fell One Tear of Love by Louise Doughty A deeply personal work in which place, memory and family history intersect, exploring the stories we inherit and the landscapes that hold them.
Threads: My Life in Style by Paul Smith The celebrated British designer tells his story through clothes, objects and inspiration, offering an engaging glimpse into a singular creative life.
History, Culture and the Pleasure of Curiosity
Talking Classics by Mary Beard One of Britain's most engaging classicists brings the ancient world into conversation with the present, making history feel immediate, provocative and wonderfully alive.
Deep into the Sixties by David Kynaston A richly detailed journey into 1960s Britain, capturing the politics, culture and everyday experiences behind a decade remembered for dramatic social change.
The Bookshop by Andrew Pettegree A history of the places that have brought readers and books together, exploring the cultural importance, and enduring magic, of the bookshop.
The Bayeux Tapestry: A Visual Treasury A close encounter with one of the medieval world's greatest surviving treasures, revealing the artistry and storytelling contained within its famous embroidered scenes.
The Agatha Christie Cure by Cathy Rentzenbrink Part literary companion, part personal reflection, this charming book explores the enduring comfort, ingenuity and escapism of Agatha Christie's novels.
The Writer's Map by Huw Lewis-Jones A celebration of maps imagined by writers and illustrators, exploring how fictional landscapes can make stories feel every bit as real as our own world.
The Beverly Hills Housewife by James Cahill Cahill turns his perceptive eye towards art, culture and identity, exploring the intriguing stories and contradictions concealed behind surfaces.
Henry Moore by Eleanor Clayton An accessible exploration of one of Britain's most influential modern artists, offering insight into Moore's distinctive sculptures and creative development.
The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet Through the story of a landmark Kabul hotel and those connected to it, the veteran correspondent illuminates Afghanistan's recent history through individual lives.
Contemporary Fiction to Get Lost In
From intimate stories of love and family to ambitious novels spanning generations and continents, the fiction collection brings together some of the most compelling voices in contemporary literature.
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
Set during the bitter English winter of 1962–63, Miller’s atmospheric novel explores two young marriages, buried secrets and the quiet tensions running beneath rural life.
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
An ambitious novel spanning centuries and continents, connecting three lives through a single drop of water and the enduring legacy of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Inspired by the death of Shakespeare’s young son, O’Farrell transforms a historical footnote into an extraordinarily moving portrait of marriage, family, love and grief.
You Are Here by David Nicholls
Two lonely people find themselves walking across the English landscape together in this warm and tender novel about friendship, second chances and unexpected connection.
Departure(s) by Julian Barnes
Barnes’ elegiac and playful final novel considers memory, identity, love and ageing, blurring the boundaries between fiction and autobiography.
James by Percival Everett
A bold reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, retelling the familiar journey from Jim’s perspective and placing his intelligence, humanity and voice at the centre of the story.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Following two very different brothers after the death of their father, Rooney explores grief, desire, love and complicated relationships with characteristic emotional precision.
Doom Painting by A. K. Blakemore
Set over sixteen turbulent days in 1381, Blakemore’s historical novel follows the Peasants’ Revolt as rebellion spreads across England and the rebels march towards London, with the enigmatic Wat Tyler emerging as its leader.
Where Are the Kings by Donal Ryan
After the death of his mother changes his life irrevocably, young Jack is enveloped by her sprawling family. Tender and darkly funny, the novel explores adolescence, grief, family secrets and the bewildering process of growing up.
Cold Sunset by William Boyd
The third Gabriel Dax novel finds the travel writer and reluctant spy drawn into Cold War intrigue when he is sent to Russia and becomes caught in a dangerous web of defectors, escape plans and shifting loyalties.
Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson
Set in 1951 against preparations for the Festival of Britain, Atkinson’s novel follows former war reporter Harry Flynn as he joins an eccentric group charged with helping to bring the national celebration to life, while struggling with the shadows of his own wartime past.
Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar
A haunting novel about a young boy whose father mysteriously disappears, and the profound ways in which absence, uncertainty and memory come to shape his life.
The Bridge by Colm Tóibín
In the Catalan Pyrenees, Miquel and his father live uneasily together following the death of Miquel’s mother. As a new bridge promises to end their valley’s isolation, Tóibín explores grief, change, longing and a young man’s search for connection.
Farewell to Eden by Sebastian Faulks
Returning from the beaches of Normandy, soldier Philip Deval is sent to Palestine during the final days of the British Mandate. Later, back in England, an encounter with music teacher Frances Darwood offers the possibility of love, while forcing him to confront the lasting scars of war.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Set in a small Irish town in 1985, this exquisite short novel follows coal merchant Bill Furlong as a troubling discovery forces him to confront his conscience and the silence of those around him.
The Daffodil Days by Helen Bain
Set near Dartmoor in the early 1960s, Bain’s debut reimagines a pivotal period in the marriage of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes through the lives and perspectives of the rural community living around them.
Autumn by Ali Smith
The first novel in Smith’s celebrated Seasonal Quartet is an inventive and moving meditation on friendship, ageing, art, time and a changing Britain.
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
In 2119, with much of Britain’s lowlands submerged by rising seas, scholar Tom Metcalfe becomes fascinated by a great poem read aloud in 2014 and subsequently lost. His search uncovers tangled relationships, secrets and a crime in this literary mystery about memory, history and what can ever truly be known.
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
Spanning decades and continents, Messud traces the fortunes of a family shaped by displacement, secrecy, history and the complicated idea of home.
Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell
In 1928 Berlin, young artist Hannah embraces the freedom of the city’s galleries and clubs before a passionate affair with a wealthy patron draws her into danger. As the political shadows darken around her, art becomes bound up with questions of survival, identity and resistance.
Uprising by Tahmima Anam
Inspired by the women of Banishanta in Bangladesh, Anam’s novel takes place on an isolated, sinking island where a community of sex workers lives under brutal exploitation and a rebellion begins to take shape.
Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester
When Kate recognises intimate details of her long marriage in a hit television drama written by a younger woman, questions of betrayal and ownership begin to surface. Lanchester’s black comedy explores marriage, storytelling, resentment and conflict between generations.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
When newlyweds Celestial and Roy are separated after Roy is wrongfully imprisoned, their marriage is placed under extraordinary strain in this powerful exploration of love, loyalty and injustice.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Childhood friends Sam and Sadie reconnect and become creative partners in the world of video games. Spanning decades, their story becomes an absorbing exploration of friendship, ambition, creativity, love and the many ways we connect with one another.
Stay for the Story at University Arms
Of course, discovering a wonderful book is only half the pleasure. The other is finding somewhere you can give it your undivided attention.
At University Arms, our mahogany panelled Library was created for precisely that kind of moment. Settle into a leather Chesterfield, choose a velvet armchair or find a quiet corner by the fireplace and allow a few pages to become an afternoon.
Guests looking for something new can call upon our Book Butler, who will discuss your favourite authors, genres and themes before selecting books from our expertly curated Library and delivering them to your room or suite.
The literary details continue upstairs. Several of our suites and rooms take their names and inspiration from figures with Cambridge connections, bringing the city's extraordinary literary heritage into the experience of staying here.
And for readers who would happily build an entire break around books, there is Stay for the Story: A Reading Retreat. Our two night literary escape has been designed to offer something increasingly precious: time to slow down, switch off and read.
In a city synonymous with books, ideas and great writers, University Arms feels like a natural place to begin your next chapter. Come for Cambridge, stay for the stories, and leave with a few more books on your reading list than when you arrived.