These 'letters to an undergraduate' were published in 1845, two years after the death of their author, Thomas Whytehead (1815-43). His outstanding student career at Cambridge suggested that he would remain in academic life, but having been ordained a deacon and then a priest, he volunteered for missionary work, and in 1841 sailed for the southern hemisphere as chaplain to the newly appointed Bishop Selwyn. He became seriously ill on arrival in Australia, and died in New Zealand the following year. This work was created during Whytehead's time as a curate, and later on his travels: he felt...