Lewis Carroll

Born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Daresbury, Cheshire, in 1832, he became famous under the pen name Lewis Carroll. He studied and later taught mathematics at Christ Church, Oxford, and he was also known for his work in logic and photography.

He is remembered above all for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), two books that transformed children’s literature with their wordplay, puzzles, and wonderfully odd characters. He also wrote works such as The Hunting of the Snark, showing the same love of sound, pattern, and comic absurdity.

Behind the fantasy was a writer with a careful, analytical mind, which helps explain why his nonsense often feels so precise and memorable. He died in Guildford, Surrey, in 1898, but his books remain among the most beloved classics in English.