Lewis Carroll: Worlds of His Alices

by Edward Guiliano

This fresh and comprehensive analysis of the creative works of Lewis Carroll addresses with authority the dominant issues and events in the life and works of the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson - the puzzling, eccentric, whimsical and brilliant Oxford mathematics don who changed literature and infused world culture with the publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Conceived in 1862 and inspired by Carroll's real-life dream-child Alice Liddell, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its indelible character Alice is now accepted as a masterpiece. The book became a global phenomenon in Carroll's life and has remained a bestseller and a rich source of inspiration for various art forms in the more than 150 years since its publication. Today, it is a global resource beyond Lewis Carroll or the property of editorial writers, advertising copywriters, literary critics, children of all ages, film makers and others. Lewis Carroll and his Alices are part of our cultural heritage. Alice's story lives in countless editions, illustrations, stage and screen adoptions and adaptations, and has been translated into no fewer than 174 languages. Writing with broad access to updated or previously unavailable primary materials and the vast arena of contemporary scholarship on Carroll and his works, Professor Guiliano offers an authoritative account of Carroll's identities, behaviors and works. He connects the diverse elements in his art--from photography to poetry--to the great Alice books and more. Through a focus on the primary works, the question "Why Alice?"--the original text and its cipher-like afterlives--is placed in numerous contexts, including the era in which the Alices were created, and their many layers of complexity pealed back. In the end, the plurality of Carroll's art is revealed, including through selected reproductions of his photographs and drawings. CONTENTS include: Quite the Golden Afternoon; Before Alice--Photography and More; Mysteries & Identity; Speculations & Answers; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There; The Hunting of the Snark; Publications Beyond; Why Alice? Posthumous Productivity & Popularity; A Biographical Chronology; and Selected Bibliography.

222 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2020

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw his presentation at the LCSNA Spring event, I was really excited for the book to come out. When I finally got it, I was not disappointed! Not only was it very well written, you could tell that the author took the time and care to properly study and portray Carroll as a man of his time. The book talks about many important aspects of his life. His photography and artistic skills and visions. How and why the Alice books made such a impact then and still does now. He also talks about his poetry, his logic games, his publications beyond Alice, and so much more.

The best thing about this book though, it's the way it was written. Some biographies I have found are rather dry, as the Mouse would say, and difficult to read through. Not this book! He managed very well to not only enlighten us about his life, but made it in a way that was entertaining and easy to follow. The book is also illustrated, because of course it had to be!

Overall, a great book to read if you are a Lewis Carroll fan. I highly recommend it if you want to learn more about him.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very readable biography of Lewis Carroll. It's understandable, it says what is necessary to say and it doesn't drown itself in minutiae. It also has a good number of photos, notes, a biographical timeline and a bibliography,.

It covers topics like his past, his photographs, his nude photographs of young girls, why he gave up photography, his relationship to Alice Liddell and the problems he had with her mother, how he tried to keep his private and his public personas totally separate, his illustrations, his poetry, material on The Hunting of the Snark (which I really think is cool), his math books and adaptations of his works.

An excellent biography.