Lewis Carroll

[ 1832-1898] born on Jan 27th

Author of Alice's Adventures in the WonderLand (Dodgson was a penname of Lewis) and Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there

In the above two stories, he was probably writing about his own temporal lobe seizures. The very sensation initiating Alice' adventures- that of falling down a hole- is a familiar one to many people with seizures. Alice often feels that her own body (or the objects around her) is shrinking or growing before her eyes, another seizure symptom. Carroll recorded his seizures, which were followed by prolonged headaches and feeling not his usual self, in his journal.

He also published The Hunting of the Snark, in 1876, and his last novel the two volume Sylvie and Bruno in 1889 and 1893 respectively. In addition, he published many mathematical papers under his own name, courted scandal through his associations with the opposite sex, toured Russia and Europe on an extended visit (in 1867) and bought a house in Guildford, where he died, suddenly of violent pneumonia leaving mystery and enigma behind him.

Carroll was a man who was naturally gregarious, egoistic enough to relish attention and admiration. he was well-equipped as an engaging entertainer. He could sing tolerably well and was not afraid to do so in front of an audience. He was adept at mimicry and story-telling. He was something of a star at charades. He could be charming, pushy, manipulative, with the kind of ready sensitivity vulnerable women are apt to find irresistible. He was also quite nakedly socially ambitious, anxious to make his mark on the world in some way, as a writer, as an artist. He was writing -- poetry, short stories and sending them to various magazines. 

quote:

"You need not be shocked at my being spoken against. Anybody, who is spoken about at all, is sure to be spoken against by somebody"