Edward Wakeling (1946–2023)

This year (2015) being the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, there has been a great rush to publish books about Alice, and about its author. This is one of the first of them, by the scholar who was able to finally publish Charles Dodgson's diaries in full, un-redacted form.

The publishers' blurbs would have you believe that this is a biography of Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). It isn't. Yes, it's about Dodgson, and it contains many details of his life. But it is neither a complete life nor even a coherent narrative. Instead, it chooses out a number of people he knew in his life and talks, usually for a few pages, about his relationships with them. Yes, Alice Liddell is one of the people he talks about -- but at no great length. Gertrude Chataway gets about as much space, and many other young women make their brief appearances and are left behind. Much of the material is about adults (e.g. the artists of the pre-Raphaelite movement, and Dodgson's fellow teachers), and much of it is bolstered by letters.

Much that is in here is hard to find; this includes letters, photos, and biographical details about some of the people he knew. For instance, this is the first book I've seen that included Gertrude Chataway's memories of him, which surely are vital to every biographer but which never seem to be cited.

If you're looking for scandal, forget it. Wakeling seems at times to be looking over his shoulder at all the people who would claim Dodgson as a paedophile, but he does not address the issue seriously, and clearly doesn't feel it needs to be addressed. Indeed, the evidence is overwhelming that Dodgson never did anything improper (according to Victorian conventions, at least). But that doesn't stop the modern gossip. Wakeling probably should have tried to address it more clearly.

As a work of scholarship, this is impressive. As something to read... not so much. It's a somewhat disorderly series of sketches, with no overall pattern and no uniting theme except Dodgson. For all its detail, it never really gets inside Dodgson's head -- there is no real hint of his autism, his depression, his complex religious feelings. And you can't really understand Dodgson from this book; you really need to start with a biography. Nor is the writing particularly impressive; Wakeling is clear, straightforward, logical... and pedestrian. If you are a serious student of Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll, you want this book. But if you just want to know the background of Alice -- forget it.… (altro)