The Lewis Carroll Society Website - Lewis Carroll's Diaries

Dodgson’s eleventh journal notebook includes his meetings with a number of celebrities of the day including Sir Frederick Leighton, Mark Twain, William S. Coleman, and William De Morgan. He also met two book illustrators he commissioned to work for him. The first was Arthur Burdett Frost, an American artist, who illustrated Rhyme? and Reason? (1883) and A Tangled Tale (1885). The second was Emily Gertrude Thomson with whom he remained in contact for the rest of his life. She illustrated the front cover of The Nursery “Alice” (1889) and the posthumously published, Three Sunsets (1898). He also approached Randolph Caldecott and William Ralston for the same purpose, but nothing came of these proposals. Dodgson corresponded with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, the latter with an idea of having some of his poems set to music for a possible musical version of Alice. Sadly, nothing came of this proposed collaboration.

One significant event in Dodgson’s life described in this journal was his decision to spend his summer holidays at 7 Lushington Road, Eastbourne, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dyer. He took lodgings with them from July to October and this became his regular arrangement throughout this time period, and for the rest of his life. This enabled him to work on his publications and projects while at the same time allowing him to enjoy the delights of a popular Victorian seaside resort; the beach, the promenade, the pier, and the entertainment provided for the summer season. During this time, Dodgson began to develop the voting theory that resulted in his system of Parliamentary and Proportional Representation, aspects of which are used in elections today. He was inspired to invent this system as a result of elections within the Governing Body of Christ Church, of which he was a member, especially when he found that the voting procedures used did not always result, to his mind, in fair outcomes. He also began to apply these ideas of fair play to Lawn Tennis Tournaments where, according to the usual system operated, some of the better players were eliminated in the early rounds.

In 1882 he began to show interest in a three-wheeled cycle known as a velociman and he spent many hours working with other enthusiasts developing improvements to the mechanism. These diary pages contain drawings and sketches showing his ideas for making the velociman easier to steer and more comfortable to ride. Eventually he purchased his own tricycle. However, long walks were still his usual mode of exercise. Dodgson’s literary career continued with the publication of Euclid and His Modern Rivals (1879), his dramatic defence of Euclid against the new geometers, Doublets: A Word-Puzzle (1879), various articles and letters in The St. James’s Gazette, and Euclid Books I, II (1882), a popular book designed for school use which went into several editions.

Other important events included his resignation from the mathematical lectureship at Christ Church at the age of 49, a post he had held since January 1856. His stated purpose was to give himself more time for literary projects. However, within two years, he accepted the appointment of Curator of the Common Room, a position that cost him much time and extra work and which confounded his earlier intentions.

In this volume, Dodgson recorded the secret marriage of his brother, Skeffington, and the deaths of his aunts Lucy Lutwidge and Elizabeth Raikes. The deaths of a number of cousins were noted; Caroline Lutwidge, Menella Bute Smedley, Adelaide Wilcox, Fred Wilcox and Laura Dodgson.

Significantly, Dodgson gave up photography in 1880. He put away his camera and photographic equipment for the last time, never to return to his “one recreation”. There has been much speculation why he stopped taking photographs, but his true reason is revealed here (see n. 511).

Corrections to the LCS Edition of this Journal

Page	Section	Correction
87	7 Dec 1877	footnote 153: Joseph Leycester Lyne (1837-1908), Father Ignatius, eloquent Benedictine preacher…
99	24 Jan 1878	footnote 183: Possibly Rev. Thomas Frederick Rudston Read (1811-92), for details see Diary 4, n. 264. He married Mrs. Barbara Louisa Fell née Thompson (b. 1831) in 1867 after the death of his first wife, Louisa Lucy Rudston Read née Erskine (1816-1865). He became rector of Withyham, Sussex in 1865 where he met Mrs. Fell. She already had at least two children: Winifred A. (b. 1863) and Edwin Frederick Berry. The step-son was possibly another of Mrs. Fell's sons from her first marriage. A probable candidate is William Edwin Fell (b. 1859) who matriculated at Exeter College on 27 April 1878.
144	4 Nov 1878	footnote 268: replace with - Robert George Livingstone (1838-1935) matriculated at Pembroke College in 1856: scholar at Oriel 1856-60, BA 1860, MA 1863, curate of St. Mary the Virgin 1863-67, tutor of Pembroke 1864, fellow and junior dean 1866, sub-dean 1872, chaplain 1882, later examining chaplain to the Bishop of Bristol and hon. canon of Bristol. Add {sic} to entry.
163	27 Feb 1879	remove {sic}
163	4 Mar 1879	replace "Maggie" with "Margie"
390	22 Dec 1881	footnote 669, sixth paragraph, first sentence should read: "Moreover, in a speech of his, reported in the papers of December 16, the imprisonment of Mr. Green is the one dominant idea …"
435	31 May 1882	footnote 722: Robert Harvey Charsley (1826-1907), not William Henry Charsley
509	8 Jan 1883	footnote 825: S. E. Luttmann Johnson (b. 1807), a widow living at 17 Sussex Square. Her brother was Henry William Robinson Luttmann Johnson
525	28 Mar 1883	footnote 849: Charles Coote (1858-97)

Updated:15 April 2005