Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll was born as Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, the
eldest son of eleven children raised in a devout English household.
He had an inquisitive mind, and his early poems, plays, and
paintings display the genius that characterizes his mature works;
he seems to have had a happy childhood. Charles was often in charge
of the activities of his younger siblings, and he showed a great
gift for entertaining and instructing children—one that would
persist and deepen throughout his life. Young Charles had a sharp
intellect and, tutored by his father, was well ahead of the other
students when he enrolled in grade school. He became fluent in
Latin and had a propensity for complex mathematics that would
likewise distinguish him when in 1850 he entered university at
Christ Church college of Oxford University. After graduation, he
taught mathematics and logic at Christ Church. In 1856, he created
the pseudonym “Lewis Carroll” (versions of his first and middle
names in reverse order). He conducted his academic career and
published mathematical works as Charles Dodgson but signed his
literary works as Lewis Carroll.
Carroll was known for his piety (he was ordained
as a deacon in 1861), and he suffered from a stutter and deafness
in one ear. A sensitive man with many interests, he was an amateur
painter and inventor, and an avid theatergoer who moved in London’s
artistic circles. A talented art photographer, he made portraits of
various luminaries of the day, including Tennyson and the
Rossettis. Most frequently, however, he turned his lens upon his
favorite subjects and companions: young girls. Carroll’s love of
purity and guilelessness and his early experience with his many
siblings made him prefer the company of children to that of adults.
Whatever other impulses may have led Dodgson to seek out the
companionship of young girls, these relationships were by all
accounts innocent and kindly. Indeed, Dodgson’s young friends were
inspirational—the games and stories he invented to please them led
to the creation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and
Through the Looking-Glass, among other works of fantasy and
high nonsense.
Carroll never married, maintained close
relationships with his siblings, and led a charitable, productive
life unshaken by the political and social upheavals of the day. His
more than 300 published works comprise poetry, mathematics, logic,
and his beloved children’s stories. Lewis Carroll died in
Guildford, England, on January 14, 1898.