Have you ever searched for a book recommendation based on your first-year University of Edinburgh accommodation? Neither. Nonetheless, if you want to find out, read on!
Pollock Halls: Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
A messy romance novel I devoured over the latest Christmas break. The petty chaos and ignorant wealth of Magnolia Parks, the protagonist, feels so classically Pollock. Indeed, Magnolia’s world, a microcosm of London ultra-upper class society, feels right at home there.
Warrender Park Crescent/Road: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Marchmont — with its artisan delis, trinket shops, peaceful Meadows views, and an alarming number of overpriced coffee shops — is the ex-Pollock second-year hotspot. For those Warrender Park Road and Crescent first-years who must coexist, it is not the wildest place in Edinburgh. But, what can be said is that you can get a brilliant — yet overpriced — coffee on any corner. Kawaguchi’s cosy coffee-shop tale could very easily be reimagined in any Marchmont independent cafe.
Salisbury Court:The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Whether it is the claustrophobic courtyard, the hopeless cooking, or the unwarrantedly high prices, I would have to pair Salisbury Court with The Hunger Games. It is the Pollock for people who think they can cook — think, being the key word here (thus, the hunger aspect).
Kincaids:The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Living on Cowgate has its upsides and downsides, as does living in the vicinity of Gatbsy’s estate. “Another party?” the surrounding residents groan, awaiting the inevitable noise complaints. Whilst perhaps (definitely) not as glamorous as Gatsby’s quarters, Kincaids does know how to throw a do with a Gatsby-level of commitment and consistency.
Nicolson Street: Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Nicolson Street accommodation overlooks, yes you guessed it, Nicolson Street, making it the perfect accommodation for a Clarissa Dalloway level of people watching. Nicolson Street is for the dreamers, writers, and professional thinkers, something which Woolf never fails to conjure up.
Riego Street: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Now I am biased with this one. An ode to my first-year flat of four girls, something which feels so quintessentially Little Women and probably the closest I will get to having sisters. Riego Street as a whole also does bode a Little Women-level of feminine whimsy, heightened by its West Port location — second hand bookshops, view of Edinburgh Castle, and independent coffee places right on the doorstep.
Mylnes Court: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Where better to house the first Gothic novel (if it were to be set in Edinburgh), than Mylnes Court. The turret staircases are very much fashion over function for the students, but undeniably would serve as the perfect backdrop for a damsel in distress to flee from a ghost in armour. Furthermore, its situation right next to New College and the School of Divinity, resonates with the religious superstition which weighs on Walpole’s novel, as with the majority of Gothic works to come since.
Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash