In the Shadow of the Dreamchild
Encyclopedia
In the Shadow of the Dreamchild: A New Understanding of Lewis Carroll is a 1999 book by British author Karoline Leach
that posited the concept of the "Carroll Myth": the idea that many of the most famous aspects of Lewis Carroll
's biography, including his supposed adoration of Alice Liddell
, are more legend than fact.
Its main contentions are:
The book has had considerable impact on Carroll studies and reactions to it have been very polarised.
Karoline Leach
Karoline Leach is a British playwright and author, best known for her book In the Shadow of the Dreamchild , which re-examines the life of Lewis Carroll , the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
that posited the concept of the "Carroll Myth": the idea that many of the most famous aspects of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's biography, including his supposed adoration of Alice Liddell
Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Liddell , known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice is said to be named after her.-Biography:...
, are more legend than fact.
Its main contentions are:
- Lewis Carroll was not 'exclusively focused' on female children as has been claimed by all previous biographers.
- He did not 'lose interest' in girls over the age of 14, and that many of his so-called 'child-friends' had actually been grown women.
- Alice Liddell was not 'the real Alice', and that Carroll was never in love with her, or asked to marry her.
- His relationships with adult women have been consistently under-examined and misreported
- His life was haunted by an unnamed pain that may have involved a guilty love affair
The book has had considerable impact on Carroll studies and reactions to it have been very polarised.
Further reading
- Ronnen, Meir. "Lewis Carroll's girls". Jerusalem Post. 20 May 1999.
- Heptonstall, Geoffrey. "In the Shadow of the Dreamchild". Contemporary ReviewContemporary Review-Foundation:It was founded in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intelligent and independent opinion about the great issues of their day. They intended it to be the church-minded counterpart of the resolutely secular Fortnightly Review, which was founded by...
. August 1999. Accessed 11 April 2011. - Rankin, Donald. Review. Victorian StudiesVictorian StudiesVictorian Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal, published quarterly by Indiana University Press. It covers research on nineteenth-century Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria and publishes essays, forums, and reviews on a variety of topics concerning Victorianism, including...
43(4): 650–653. Summer 2001. - Shulevitz, Judith. "THE CLOSE READER; What Was on Lewis Carroll's Mind?". The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. 7 April 2002. Accessed 11 April 2011.