Lewis Carroll Life and Works

Children's Writer, Famous for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Feb 28, 2009

Brief biography and works of English writer Lewis Carroll, children's author, mathematician, clergyman and photographer.

Lewis Carroll was a 19th century English author of children's stories and poems. He wrote one of the funniest and most famous of all children's fantasy books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with the sequel Through the Looking-Glass.

Early Life of Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who used the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, was born on January 27, 1832 in Daresbury, Cheshire. He was an English author, mathematician and photographer. He came from a wealthy family and was well-educated at a famous boarding school. Later, he later attended Oxford University, where he studied mathematics. Carroll was a brilliant student. In 1855, he joined the university as a shy and lonely teacher.

In the mid-19th century, photography had recently been invented. Carroll became immensely interested with it. He produced superb photographs of young children, with whom he was able to talk and develop close friendships. Carroll entertained his young friends with stories.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The stories he told to one young girl in particular, Alice Liddell, became the beginnings of his first book for children, his most famous Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Unlike other children's books at that time, it did not try to teach a moral message, instead it aimed to amuse its readers with the incredible adventures of Alice along with the often ridiculous characters, like the Mad Hatter and the grinning Cheshire Cat.

Carroll led a happy life living quietly at the university and continuing to produce popular tales for children. He published Through the Looking-Glass, about the further adventures of Alice, when he was 39.

Carroll's Nonsense Poetry

He also wrote funny poetry known as nonsense poetry simply because it has no real meaning. Two examples of these literary nonsensical poems are "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky."

Lewis Carroll had the talent for fantasy and word play that delighted audiences, not only children but the literary intelligentsia. He also influenced artists. He died in Oxford at the age of 65, January 14, 1898, two weeks before his birthday.

Major Works by Lewis Carroll

Sources:

Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Edinburgh: Chambers, Harrap Publishers, 2002

The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Ian Ousby. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993

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