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The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll
Excerpt from The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C. L. Dodgson)
It is with no undue confidence that I have accepted the invitation of the brothers and sisters of Lewis Carroll to write this Memoir. I am well aware that the path of the biographer is beset with pitfalls, and that, for him, suppressio veri is almost necessarily suggestio falsi - the least omission may distort the whole picture.
To write the life of Lewis Carroll as it should be written would tax the powers of a man of far greater experience and insight than I have any pretension to possess, and even he would probably fail to represent adequately such a complex personality. At least I have done my best to justify their choice, and if in any way I have wronged my uncle's memory, unintentionally, I trust that my readers will pardon me.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
It is with no undue confidence that I have accepted the invitation of the brothers and sisters of Lewis Carroll to write this Memoir. I am well aware that the path of the biographer is beset with pitfalls, and that, for him, suppressio veri is almost necessarily suggestio falsi - the least omission may distort the whole picture.
To write the life of Lewis Carroll as it should be written would tax the powers of a man of far greater experience and insight than I have any pretension to possess, and even he would probably fail to represent adequately such a complex personality. At least I have done my best to justify their choice, and if in any way I have wronged my uncle's memory, unintentionally, I trust that my readers will pardon me.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
489 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2010
About the author
Stuart Dodgson Collingwood
20 books2 followersStuart Dodgson Collingwood was an English clergyman and headmaster. He wrote two books about his uncle, Lewis Carroll.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 5, 2016
Lewis Carroll (author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Other Stories) is the pen name of C. L. Dodgson.
Much of this book, written by the nephew of the famous author, was pieced together from diaries and notes spanning a lifetime. Although tedious in parts, it is well worth reading portions of this book to gain a better understanding of the brilliantly creative mind of the author we call Lewis Carroll. This book is free at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11483
To anyone who has ever wondered where his incredibly imaginative ideas came from, I give you a peek into his childhood...from the book:
"In this quiet home the boy invented the strangest diversions for himself; he made pets of the most odd and unlikely animals, and numbered certain snails and toads among his intimate friends. He tried also to encourage civilised warfare among earthworms, by supplying them with small pieces of pipe, with which they might fight if so disposed."
Much of this book, written by the nephew of the famous author, was pieced together from diaries and notes spanning a lifetime. Although tedious in parts, it is well worth reading portions of this book to gain a better understanding of the brilliantly creative mind of the author we call Lewis Carroll. This book is free at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11483
To anyone who has ever wondered where his incredibly imaginative ideas came from, I give you a peek into his childhood...from the book:
"In this quiet home the boy invented the strangest diversions for himself; he made pets of the most odd and unlikely animals, and numbered certain snails and toads among his intimate friends. He tried also to encourage civilised warfare among earthworms, by supplying them with small pieces of pipe, with which they might fight if so disposed."
September 26, 2017
Written by his nephew just eleven months after the death of the man. Interesting. But it leaves you confused. It is a sort of hagiography. But the letters quoted that Lewis had written to the little girls do very much give the impression of a pedophile.
It seems the family had deliberately held back evidence for relationships with adult women. One does not know.
In an early letter Carrol quotes an interesting kind of lie. “My colleagues are as innocent as I am”.
It seems the family had deliberately held back evidence for relationships with adult women. One does not know.
In an early letter Carrol quotes an interesting kind of lie. “My colleagues are as innocent as I am”.
February 1, 2026
Hard to review…. As others have mentioned, this is a compilation of letters from LC gathered by his nephew, who added a paragraph in present tense here and there.
I’m giving it 2 stars because LC was undeniably imaginative and some might find this biography interesting.
To me it was a wonderful nap-inducer. Mostly tedious, confusing at times, in the sense that it leaves you wondering if you understood what you just read.
Sometimes I wonder what publishers value that so many nap-inducers see the light while wonderful stories and writing styles never do.
In all honesty, I did not finish it. I couldn’t afford another nap today ;)
I’m giving it 2 stars because LC was undeniably imaginative and some might find this biography interesting.
To me it was a wonderful nap-inducer. Mostly tedious, confusing at times, in the sense that it leaves you wondering if you understood what you just read.
Sometimes I wonder what publishers value that so many nap-inducers see the light while wonderful stories and writing styles never do.
In all honesty, I did not finish it. I couldn’t afford another nap today ;)
February 22, 2012
I had the first edition of this book once. Of course it is a glowing account of the author, but as a period piece it gets one closer to how LC was received then. Lots of questions about his relationship with young girls are not raised - we would today.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews