Leaving behind Cumbria for Oxford in the late 1950s, Bragg navigates class and culture in a world on the brink of change Leaving behind Cumbria for Oxford in the late 1950s, Bragg navigates class and culture in a world on the brink of change I t’s October 1958, and a nearly 19-year-old Melvyn Bragg is on the platform at Wigton railway station, saying goodbye to his childhood sweetheart, Sarah. He is off to read history at Wadham College, Oxford, one of the youngest in his cohort because