LEWIS CARROLL in The Reading Room at Kitchen Sink Dramas

The Reading Room

LEWIS CARROLL

(1832-1898)

Much (often controversial) has been written about the life of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson; writer, mathematician, inventor and photographer of children. Born into a clerical family Dodgson excelled at mathematics and became a lecturer at Christ Church in Oxford, but had always been interested in a literary career. His two classic children’s books, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland (1865) and the sequel Through the Looking Glass (1872) were published under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll and an instant success, gaining the author many admirers, including Queen Victoria. Their heroine was apparently inspired by Alice Liddel, the young daughter of the local Dean with whom Dodgson became friends, although the author always denied this. Although there is disagreement over the nature of Dodgson’s infatuation with Alice Liddel and his general fascination with childhood innocence, his unique fictional world remains a huge influence on modern art and literature. Let’s also not forget his contribution of the word ‘chortle’ to the English vocabulary, first mentioned in his poem ‘Jabberwocky.’ (Apparently it’s a cross between a chuckle and a snort.)