Lewis Carroll's Private Journal

Lewis Carroll kept a diary throughout his adult life, and although not every day is recorded, he maintained a detailed chronicle of his activities, often summarising short periods of days, or even elapsed months.

In all, there were thirteen volumes of Carroll's private journal, but four have since gone missing. Following Carroll's death in 1898, the manuscript diaries were kept by members of the Dodgson family, and were transferred to various senior members of the C.L. Dodgson Estate for safe keeping, until they were purchased by the British Library in 1969.

An edited version was published in the 1950, and the full text of all 9 surviving volumes has been published in a richly annotated edition, by The Lewis Carroll Society.

These pages give extensive details of the diaries and include supplementary notes to the LCS editions. Copies of the published volumes are available through the LCS (see our Publications Page) or through the Aznet Online Store. Significant discounts are available to members of the LCS.

Further Information on this Website

Extended Introduction

A more detailed, general account of the diaries.

Volume by Volume

An overview of the content of each volume.

The Missing Pages

Information about the pages that are missing from the diaries.