The Dean’s Diaries

About the Book: 

The Dean of St Andrew’s College oversees an ancient institution (Est. 1561) renowned for its academic oddity, interdepartmental warfare and explosive disasters.The Dean’s observations and anecdotes provide an exceptionally witty account of academia in Edinburgh, seamlessly combining the douce realities of Scotland’s capital with the decidedly bizarre goings-on at St Andrew’s.

The population of Scotland remains rightly proud of St Andrew’s College, seeing in its fierce political incorrectness and general eccentricity, a shield against the creeping gloom of the Endarkenment. - Rt Hon. Lord Fanshawe FRS

The Dean’s Diaries follow the activities, on and off campus, of the Dean, his Dons and Fellows through the Academic Year. They also correct egregious errors in the press coverage of both the Giant Squid incident and the Antimatter explosion.

Reviews: 

David Purdie is arguably our best after-dinner speaker of the moment. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

About the Author:

DAVID PURDIE was born privately in Prestwick and educated publicly at Ayr Academy and Glasgow University. He is a Professor Emeritus of Hull University and is presently as Hon. Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities of the University of Edinburgh, where his field is the history and philosophy of the 18th century. David is Editor-in-Chief of The Burns Encyclopedia, which covers the life and work of the poet Robert Burns, and editors of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe and The Heart of Midlothian, both adapted for the modern reader. He is a former Chairman of the Sir Walter Scott Club. In non-academic mode, he is the co-author of The Ancyent & Healthfulle Exercyse, a history of golf, and of The Dean’s Diaries, an exposé of the goings-on at the (fictional) St Andrew’s College in Edinburgh.