Lewis Carroll is the pen name of Charles Dodgson, a mathematician. The first video discusses his relationship with the Liddell family, whose daughter Alice inspired Carroll’s story. The next link is to the photograph referenced in the video. In addition to math and writing, Dodgson was a prolific photographer. Further information on his photography is in the next link. Over the years, scholars of Carroll’s work have debated precisely the nature of his relationship with Alice Liddell and the other young girls he was attracted to as photographic models. This fascination has been the basis of several recent theatrical adaptations of Alice.
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This posed photograph by Lewis Carroll is one of the most famous and controversial pictures of Alice Liddell, for whom Carroll wrote the Alice stories. Photography was still a relatively new art form and Carroll took thousands of photographs from 1856-1880. Most were portraits of people that he knew.
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Does an author or artist’s background matter in how we appreciate their works? How well do we need to understand the context of the society in which they were writing?
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