NEN Gallery

Lyn Newman (1901-1973), an author and journalist, joined Girton College, Cambridge, in 1924, after a first degree at Aberdeen University. Her career as a journalist was stopped in 1934 by her marriage to the mathematician Max Newman, fellow of St John's College. During her life she corresponded with several members of the Bloomsbury Group, a group of artists and intellectuals.

This extract from her 1824-1825 diaries shows her bedroom at Girton College, Cambridge. Girton College was the first university college for women, funded in 1870.

The text reads:

“This is frightfully rough + sketchy but shows you where the shelves are – 2 above cupboard + one in the corresponding alcove. I’m getting more attached to my little room”.