The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C. L. Dodgson)

Letters, diary entries and family recollections bring Lewis Carroll's work at Christ Church, Oxford, into view. Stuart Dodgson Collingwood writes about his uncle with help from relatives, friends and a contributor on the mathematical writings. The biography follows Carroll's schooling, university life and literary interests, including the beginnings of the Alice books, his dealings with illustrators and his work on logic. Its contents also give space to photography, religious questions and friendships with children.

The correspondence shows an author thinking through practical decisions. In one letter he asks about reproducing the original Alice manuscript; elsewhere his diary gathers plans for mathematical books, puzzles, poems and children's stories. Advice to Edith Rix on studying difficult material adds a quieter glimpse of his habits. Readers interested in how imaginative writing sits alongside teaching and scholarship will find concrete details of a working life.