Specialist Reading List

Introduction

These readings lists are for readers and researchers with an interest in specific areas of Dodgson's life and works. We believe that these lists contain the most often recommended books, but our aim is to continue expanding them to include more of the hundreds of books and articles on these topics. If any reader feels that we have made a any major omissions we would be pleased to hear about them.

See also, our General Reading List

Lewis Carroll: Photographer

COHEN, Morton N
Reflections in a Looking Glass: a Centennial Celebration of Lewis Carroll, Photographer
New York, Aperture, 1998
ISBN: 0 89381 796 1

A large-format book glossy book with an interesting selection of images, but rather let down by the general design. The images are from an exhibition of photographs arranged by the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

GERNSHEIM, Helmut
Lewis Carroll: Photographer
New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1969
ISBN: (0) 486 22327 2

Originally published in 1949, Gernsheim’s book served to bring Dodgson ’s work as a photographer to public attention and had for years been the standard, most authoritative text. Gernsheim's selection of images tends to be limited and his text is somewhat outdated, in view of the research that has been carried out since. Nonetheless, it is a recommended introductory work.

TAYLOR, Roger and WAKELING, Edward
Lewis Carroll: Photographer
Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2002
ISBN: 0 691 07443 7

This is by far the most comprehensive work on Dodgson's photography. This book reproduces, with annotations, all the photographs in the Princeton University collection (over 450 images) together with a thorough discussion on Dodgson as photographer and a catalogue of known Dodgson photographs. One of the most significant aspects of the work is the fact that it reproduces all of the images in the collection, giving a far more representative view of the variety of Dodgson's work than had been previously presented. Inevitably further discoveries have been made which were not included in the original photographic catalogue. Roger Taylor's extensive introduction forms a particularly good account of Dodgson's photography set in a historical context.

NICHOLL, Douglas R.
Dreaming in Pictures
San Francisco Museum of Art, 2002
ISBN: 0 300 09169 9

Published to coincide with a major exhibition of Dodgson's photographs, this is a valuable book for anyone researching the subject. A good selection of what the curators believe to be the very best of Dodgson's work are reproduced in high quality and Nicholl's essay assesses the work in an art historical sense.

Alice Liddell: Biographies

BJÖRK, Christina
The Story of Alice in her Oxford Wonderland
London, R&S Books, 1994
ISBN: 91 29 62918 7

Combined biographies of Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll, written for children. An extremely useful introduction to the whole story of their relationship, profusely illustrated and with some very handy lists and references - all in all, it is a delightful book.

CLARK, Anne
The Real Alice
London, Michael Joseph, 1981
ISBN: 0 7181 2064 7

Biography of Alice Liddell. Straightforward, very readable and well illustrated; particularly useful for the family trees. Out of print but readily obtainable second-hand.

GORDON, Colin
Beyond the Looking Glass
London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1982
ISBN: 0 340 26378 4

Profusely illustrated biography of Alice Liddell, a complement to that by Anne Clark. It is presents the life of Alice in a less interesting way than Anne Clark's books, but has far more illustrations which present the artistic side of the Liddell family. Out of print, but readily available second hand.

AMOR, Anne Clark
Wonderland Come True for Alice in Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst, The Alice Experience, Angela Trend, in association with the Lewis Carroll Society, revised edition, 2009
ISBN: 0 904117 11 1

A short, well illustrated, book about Alice Liddell's life at Lyndhurst. Contains resreach not included in The Real Alice and newly sourced illustrations.

Bibliographical Studies, Publishing and Illustration

LOVETT, Charles
Lewis Carroll and the Press: an Annotated Bibliography of Charles Dodgson’s Contributions to Periodicals
London, British Library, 1999
ISBN: 0 7123 4627 9

Exactly what the title says. Thoroughly researched and invaluable to anyone interested in tracking down some of Dodgson's minor works. Note, this is a bibliography - it does not reprint the articles themselves.

WILLIAMS, Sidney Herbert, and MADAN, Falconer
The Lewis Carroll Handbook
Revised by Roger Lancelyn Green and Denis Crutch
Folkestone, Dawson: Archon Books, 1979
ISBN: 0 7129 0906 0

The Bible for the collector or bibliographer of Dodgosn ’s works, attempting to list everything published during his lifetime in exhaustive detail, plus more. Absolutely vital for the serious researcher. There were several earlier incarnations of the work; this is more comprehensive and up to date, but the earlier versions still retain some merit, since some sections have been dropped in the later version.

OVENDEN, Graham, editor
The Illustrators of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
With an introduction by John Davis
London, Academy Editions, 1972
ISBN: 0 902620 25 8

Out of print and sometimes difficult to obtain in any of its editions, this book is nevertheless the only one dealing, to any extent, with this fascinating aspect of the Alice books. It contains a bibliography of the major English editions and reproduces many examples of the disparate styles.

DODGSON, Charles
Lewis Carroll and the House of Macmillan
Edited by Morton N. Cohen and Anita Gandolfo
Cambridge University Press, 1987
ISBN: 0 521 25602 x

Letters from Charles Dodgson to his publisher, Macmillan, heavily annotated and indexed. Whilst no collection of letters can claim to be complete this is books comes as a result of a comprehensive search over several decades.

DODGSON, Charles
Lewis Carroll and his Illustrators
Edited by Morton N. Cohen and Edward Wakeling
Macmillan, 2003
ISBN: 0 333 78307 7

Letters from Charles Dodgson to the illustrators of his books: John Tenniel, Henry Holiday, Arthur Frost, Harry Furniss and E Gertrude Thomson, with annotations and introductory article for each illustrator. Also included are Dodgson's letters to George du Maurier, Edwin Linley Sambourne, Walter Crane and Luke Fildes.

SCHILLER, Justin G.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, An 1865 printing re-described and newly identified as the Publisher's "File Copy"
With a revised and expanded "Cencus of the Suppressed 1854 Alice" by Selwyn H. Goodacre

Privately Printed for The Jabberwock, 1990
ISBN: 0 9627110 0 4

An illustrated account of a particular copy of the 1865 Alice which is believed to be the Macmillan "File Copy" containing notes, supplementary illustrations, etc. The analysis of the book and mass of supporting material makes this an interesting work for anyone researching the publishing history of Alice.

HANCHER, Michael
The Tenniel Illustrations to the "Alice" Books
Ohio State University, 1985
ISBN: 8142 0408 2

There is a new version of the book available at https://ohiostatepress.org/books/BookPages/HancherTenniel.htm

Games, Puzzles, Logic

FISHER, John
The Magic of Lewis Carroll
Penguin, 1973
ISBN: 0 14 004064 1

A collection of games, puzzles, magic tricks, etc pulled from many of Dodgson's works and presented with a lively explanatory text.

CARROLL, Lewis
Lewis Carroll’s Games and Puzzles
Newly compiled and edited by Edward Wakeling
New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1992

Dodgson loved entertaining children with puzzles and games, and examples are scattered throughout his books and letters. Wakeling has gathered them together in this, the first of two entertaining books.

CARROLL, Lewis
Rediscovered Lewis Carroll Puzzles
Newly compiled and edited by Edward Wakeling
New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1995
ISBN: 0 486 28861 7

This is the second of Wakeling's collections of Dodgson's games and puzzles, many of which were hitherto all but forgotten.

CARROLL, Lewis
Lewis Carroll’s Symbolic Logic
Edited, with annotations and an introduction, by William Warren Bartley
Hassocks, Harvester Press, 1977
ISBN: 0 85527 984 2

The full text of Dodgson's work on Symbolic Logic with an extensive collation of unpublished material, with annotations, supplementary notes, etc.

GARDNER, Martin
The Universe in a Handkerchief: Lewis Carroll’s Mathematical Recreations, Games, Puzzles, and Word Plays
New York, Copernicus, 1996
ISBN: 0 387 94673 X

A famous and highly respected poser of puzzles himself, Gardner brings an academic, expert and enthusiastic eye to Dodgson’s obsession.

DODGSON, Charles
The Logic Pamphlets of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces
Compiled, with introductory essays, notes and annotations by Francine F. Abeles
The Lewis Carroll Society of North America, 2010
ISBN: 978 0 930326 25 8

Dodgson's pamphlets on logic together with supporting material, notes, etc. This is an essential work to anyone studying Carroll's logic, partly because the background information and notes are particularly well researched, but also because it contains material not available or otherwise extremely difficult to obtain.

Mathematics, Voting Procedures, Cryptology

WILSON, Robin
Lewis Carroll in Numberland
Penguin Books (Allen Lane), 2008
ISBN: 978 0 713 99757 6

A thorough survey of Dodgson's work in mathematics and logic. The author does not shy away from tackling the true mathematics whilst managing to make the subject lively and understandable to a general audience.

DODGSON, Charles
The Political Pamphlets and Letters of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces
Compiled, with introductory essays, notes and annotations by Francine F. Abeles
The Lewis Carroll Society of North America, 2001
ISBN: 0 930326 14 8

Dodgson's pamplets and letters on methods of voting, proportionate representation, scoring in games, etc. brought together for the first time, with annotations. Includes many piece rarely, if ever, seen elsewhere.

DODGSON, Charles
The Mathematical Pamphlets of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and Related Pieces
Compiled, with introductory essays, notes and annotations by Francine F. Abeles
The Lewis Carroll Society of North America, 1994
ISBN: 0 930326 09 1

Dodgson's pamphlets on geometry, trigonometry, algrebra, probability, arithmetic and cryptology brought together for the first time, with annotations. Includes many piece rarely, if ever, seen elsewhere.

McLEAN, Iain; McMILLAN, Alistair; MONROE, Burt L.
A Mathematical Approach to Proportional Representation: Duncan Black on Lewis Carroll
Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996
ISBN: 0 7923 9620

A thorough scholarly analysis of Dodgson's work on the mathematics of voting and parliamentary representation. Duncan Black has been recogniced as the leading scholar in this subject. The three editors have attempted to produce the book with Duncan Black was working on before his death.

FAUVEL, John; FLOOD, Raymond; WILSON, Robin
Oxford Figures: 800 Years of Mathematics Sciences
OUP, 2000
ISBN: 0 19 852309 2

This series of essays tells the story of developments and leading figures in the history of mathematics at Oxford. There is a chapter on Dodgson and one on on Bat Price as well as other references which put Dodgson's work in context.