Lewis Carroll Book summary

Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who was a mathematician, author, and poet. He was born on the 27th of January, 1832. Dodgson was born into a family of churchmen and army officers, and he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England in 1861. Lewis Carroll attended the Rugby school as a teenager and then pursued an education at Christ Church, Oxford, just like his father had done before him. Dodgson went on to become a mathematician, which was a discipline he enjoyed since his time in Rugby school. Dodgson secured a professorial position at Christ Church due to his brilliant mathematical ability, yet he did not truly apply himself in his mathematical pursuits, as per his assessment of his academic career. He had begun writing fiction from an early age, and he contributed regularly to periodicals, but he first tasted success through Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which was published in 1865.

Lewis Carroll came up with the story of this successful book in 1862 during a boat ride with the family of Henry Liddell, who was the dean of Christ Church at the time. Lewis Carroll was close to the Liddells, and they had three daughters, one of whom was named Alice. It was Alice Liddell who encouraged Dodgson to put down the tale of Wonderland in writing, and he presented her with a manuscript of the book with his illustrations in 1864. Dodgson produced a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1871, called Through the Looking Glass. He continued to write throughout his life, producing children’s books and nonsense poetry, yet known of his other works found as much success as Alice's Adventure in Wonderland series. Dodgson retained his position at Christ Church despite achieving significant fame and wealth. He passed away in 1898 from Pneumonia.