| White Rabbit Press | Charles Lutwidge Dodgson |
- HOME -VIEW
ALL 22 PRINTS - VIEW
INDIVIDUAL PRINTS - |
- PRICES
/ SHIPPING / DISCOUNTS - TRADE
INQUIRIES - |
2 - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (biography, by Edward Wakeling) 3 - Sir John Tenniel (biography, by Edward Wakeling) 4 - Alice Pleasance Liddell (biography, by Edward Wakeling) 5 - Emily Gertrude Thomson (biography, by Edward Wakeling)) 6 - "The Nursery 'Alice' Illustrations" (by Brian Sibley, courtesy The Lewis Carroll Society, UK)
|
Biography of Charles L. Dodgson, also known as "Lewis Carroll" by © © © On 27 January 1832, at an isolated spot in Cheshire, near the village of Daresbury, the first son of Charles and Frances Dodgson, was born, and, in the time-honoured family tradition, he was given his father’s own first name, and also his mother’s maiden name, becoming Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He already had two sisters, and eventually there were eleven children in the Dodgson family; four boys (Charles, Skeffington, Wilfred, and Edwin) and seven girls (Frances, Elizabeth, Caroline, Mary, Margaret, Louisa, and Henrietta). The young Charles received primary education from his parents; his father taught him arithmetic and his mother taught him to read and write. He soon revealed a natural aptitude for academic study, particularly in mathematics. When the family moved to Croft-on-Tees, Yorkshire, Richmond School was close at hand, and Charles began his secondary education there, becoming a boarder at the age of 11. The next eighteen months were preparation for his main formative education at Rugby School, which began in 1846. Again he excelled in mathematics, but he was also proficient in literature, scripture and the classical languages of Latin and Greek. Hence, it was a foregone conclusion that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and gain a place at Christ Church, Oxford, to begin his undergraduate studies. He entered the portals of Oxford University in January 1851, but within a few days, his mother died suddenly, and he rushed back home for the funeral. She was, by all accounts, a loving and gentle mother who devoted her entire existence to her growing family.
At the end of 1854, Dodgson gained a first class honours degree in mathematics, coming top of the list. He was invited to remain at Christ Church as a tutor. Then in June 1855, the old Dean of Christ Church died. The new appointment was Henry George Liddell, currently headmaster of Westminster School. Following a tradition at Christ Church, two men were given honorary degrees in honour of the appointment of the new Dean, and Dodgson became a Master of the House. This paved the way for the Dean and Canons to appoint him as lecturer in mathematics, to fill a vacancy left by the previous incumbent who had gone to fight in the Crimean War. Dodgson took up his new position in 1856, and remained lecturer in mathematics until he retired in 1881. Dodgson’s first publications, a poem ("The Lady of the Ladle") and a story ("Wilhelm von Schmitz"), both of a light and humorous style, were published in The Whitby Gazette during the reading-party of 1854. He contributed to The Comic Times and The Train in a similar vein. The editor of these magazines, Edmund Yates, suggested that Dodgson adopt a better pen name than the ones he was using ("B.B.," "Dares," etc.). Dodgson suggested four alternatives; Edgar Cuthwellis, Edgar U. C. Westhill (both anagrams of his forenames), Louis Carroll, and Lewis Carroll (based on Latinate forms of his forenames) – the latter being chosen. He published a number of mathematical works under his real name. In 1856 he took up his main hobby that lasted for 25 years; photography. Dodgson was an early pioneer in this new art, using the wet collodion process. He took an estimated 3,000 photographs on a variety of subjects, but mainly concentrating on portraiture. He was ordained deacon of the Church of England in December 1861, but he never proceeded to the full holy orders of a priest, yet he helped with services and gave sermons throughout his life. Dodgson’s foray into the world of writing stories for children began when, on a boat-trip with the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church and his friend, Robinson Duckworth, he began to tell a story, which he made up as the journey progressed. The middle daughter, Alice, asked him to write out the story for her. The leather bound manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground was given to Alice Liddell as a Christmas gift in 1864. The book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was first published in 1865. [For more on this, see the article on Alice Pleasance Liddell] Dodgson only made one trip abroad in his lifetime; during the summer of 1867 he accompanied Rev. Henry Parry Liddon on a religious mission across Europe to Russia. Liddon’s aim was to forge closer ties between the Church of England and the Russian Orthodox Church. Dodgson went as a tourist. Dodgson’s father died in 1868, and, as the eldest son, he assumed the role of "head of family." He leased a home at Guildford for his brothers and sisters. His first book of poems, Phantasmagoria, was published in 1869. The sequel to Alice’s Adventures, entitled Through the Looking–Glass, was published in 1871. He continued to write mathematical works for the undergraduates at Oxford University. He published an epic nonsense poem, The Hunting of the Snark, in 1876. With the success of the Alice books, he was able to rent accommodation at Eastbourne for his summer holidays from 1877, and continued this practice for the rest of his life. In his spare time, he invented many word games and mathematical puzzles. One unusual publication was a mathematical drama, Euclid and His Modern Rivals, in 1879, but it was never performed as a play in his lifetime. After resigning the mathematical lectureship at Christ Church, he remained in residence as a senior member of the college. His colleagues elected him Curator of the Common Room in 1882. His book of humorous poetry was published under the title Rhyme? and Reason? in 1883. A series of mathematical problems woven around a story was published as A Tangled Tale in 1885. The original manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground was published in facsimile in 1886, all proceeds going to hospitals and children’s homes. The Game of Logic was published in 1887 to support his teaching of the subject in schools and colleges. The first part of a new fairy story, Sylvie and Bruno, was published in 1889. A special version of Alice for very young children, called The Nursery "Alice", was written in 1889, and after some delays caused by problems with the coloured illustrations, which had been re-drawn by John Tenniel, the book was published in 1890. The second part of the new fairy story, Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, was published in 1893. His major work on logic, Symbolic Logic, Part 1: Elementary, was published in 1896; two further volumes were planned but not published in his lifetime. He died at Guildford on 14 January 1898 after contracting influenza which turned to bronchitis, and is buried there. A book of serious poems entitled Three Sunsets, and Other Poems was published at the end of January 1898. The copyright of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ended in 1907 and many editions have been published since them, the book never going out of print. It has also been translated into many different languages. For more details on Lewis Carroll, go to www.lewiscarroll–site.com © Edward Wakeling: March 2008. Further reading on Charles Lutwidge Dodgson: ©Dodgson and the Victorian Cult of the Child ©The Illustrations of Sir John Tenniel ©Lewis Carroll and His Illustrators ©The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C.L. Dodgson) by Stuart Dodgson Collingwood |
- HOME -VIEW
ALL 22 PRINTS - VIEW
INDIVIDUAL PRINTS - |
- PRICES
/ SHIPPING / DISCOUNTS - TRADE
INQUIRIES - |
