Lewis Carroll
English author, poet, mathematician, photographer, and Anglican deacon known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and literary nonsense.
Last updated
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote under the name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer, and Anglican deacon. He is best known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871), works considered major examples of Victorian literature. His writing is noted for word play, logic, and fantasy, and his poems Jabberwocky (1871) and The Hunting of the Snark (1876) are classified as literary nonsense. The nonsensical logic in the Alice books reflects his own published work on mathematical logic.
Carroll came from a high-church Anglican family and trained for the clergy at Christ Church, Oxford, where he lived most of his life as a scholar, teacher, and deacon—a requirement for his academic fellowship. Alice Liddell, daughter of Christ Church’s dean, is widely seen as the inspiration for Alice, though Carroll denied this. He invented the word ladder puzzle, which he called “Doublets,” published in Vanity Fair from 1879 to 1881. In 1982, a memorial stone was unveiled for him at Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, and societies worldwide promote his works.
His father, also Charles Dodgson, was mathematically gifted and won a double first degree. Instead of pursuing an academic career, he became a country parson. Carroll was born on 27 January 1832 in Daresbury, Cheshire, the eldest boy of eleven children. At age eleven, his family moved to Croft-on-Tees, Yorkshire.
Educated at home early on, he read The Pilgrim’s Progress by age seven and had a stammer shared by most siblings. He attended Richmond School and then Rugby School, where he was unhappy but excelled academically. He matriculated at Christ Church in 1850, but two days after arriving, his mother died at 47. He earned first-class honours in mathematics in 1852 and 1854, though his early career mixed high promise with distraction.
Lore & Background
Carroll came from a family of high-church Anglicans and pursued his clerical training at Christ Church, Oxford, where he lived for most of his life as a scholar, teacher and Anglican deacon (required for his academic fellowship at the time). Alice Liddell – a daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church – is widely identified as the original inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, although Carroll always denied this.
An avid puzzler, Carroll created the word ladder puzzle, which he called 'Doublets', which was published in Vanity Fair magazine between 1879 and 1881. In 1982 a memorial stone to Carroll was unveiled at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. There are societies in many parts of the world dedicated to the enjoyment and promotion of his works.
Reader's Guide
Dodgson was born on 27 January 1832 at All Saints' Vicarage in Daresbury, Cheshire, the oldest boy and the third oldest of 11 children. As a very young child, he suffered a fever that left him deaf in one ear. At the age of 17, he suffered a severe attack of whooping cough, which was probably responsible for his chronically weak chest in later life.
In early childhood, he acquired a stammer, which he referred to as his 'hesitation'; it remained throughout his life. He was about 6 ft tall and slender, with curly brown hair and blue or grey eyes (depending on the account). He was described in later life as somewhat asymmetrical, and as carrying himself rather stiffly and awkwardly, possibly due to a knee injury sustained in middle age.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lewis Carroll?
Lewis Carroll was an English writer, mathematician, and photographer active during the Victorian era, best remembered for crafting the beloved Alice stories. He is widely regarded as a master of absurdist humor, logical puzzles, and imaginative fantasy in English literature.
What was Lewis Carroll's real name?
The pen name Lewis Carroll belonged to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, an Anglican deacon and Oxford mathematics lecturer. He adopted the pseudonym to keep his creative writing separate from his academic and clerical identity.
What did Lewis Carroll do besides writing?
Beyond his literary output, Dodgson held a position teaching mathematics at Christ Church, Oxford, and was an avid photographer, particularly known for portraits of children. He also designed word-ladder puzzles and authored treatises on logic and geometry.
More in Authors & Poets
Test yourself
Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.
Answers checked against the source article
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lewis Carroll (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced