Carroll, Lewis

lewis carrol

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), better known by his pseudonym Lewis Carroll, was an acclaimed English writer, mathematician, logician, photographer, and deacon remembered best for his fantastical children’s fiction. Born to an affluent family in Cheshire county, Carroll excelled in mathematics and won a scholarship to Christ Church college at Oxford University. As a mathematics lecturer at the college for over 25 years, he published widely in the field of symbolic logic and mathematics puzzles. During this time, Carroll also nurtured a passion for photography and literary pursuits, publishing poems and short stories under his pen name.

 

It was through his friendships with the Liddell family that Carroll first crafted the tales of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, for which Carroll gained his greatest literary fame. The young Alice Liddell served as the model for the precocious heroine Alice, following her fantastical dreams and imaginings down a rabbit hole into magical worlds of anthropomorphic creatures like the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, and talking playing cards. These stories reveal Carroll’s playfulness, humor, creativity, understanding of children’s perspectives, and talent for engaging fantasy worlds vividly grounded in logic and wordplay.

 

Though Carroll published other works of fiction, poetry, and mathematics during his lifetime, the Alice books eclipsed his other accomplishments and became beloved classics translated around the globe. Their lasting influence is readily seen across numerous cultural media adaptations spanning nearly 150 years. Though a quiet and solitary man in appearance, Carroll’s rich inner world spilled over to capture the imaginations of children and adults alike through the enduring adventures of a courageous young girl named Alice. The master storyteller Lewis Carroll will forever be equated with this timeless heroine exploring topsy-turvy dreamworlds where imagination reigns supreme.