The Man Behind Alice (and the magical world he created)

[ It is only apt that my very first entry would be a dedication to the man upon whom the title of this blog, 'Curiouser and Curiouser', originates from. Not only that, I created this blog to be a collection of everything of interest to me that I've come across in my life especially from my lifelong habit as an avid reader (it is to be a record of all the random knowledge that I find interesting), as a way to appease the curiosity and inquisitiveness in me; and curiosity and inquisitiveness are just the very two things (if any characteristics can even be extracted simply of such a singular man), that to me defines the life of the genius Lewis Caroll. Oh, not to mention he's my fellow alumni from Oxford, hence the feeling of kinship haha ;) For the full reason behind the creation of this new blog, you can check out my entry on it in my personal blog here ]


"A boat, beneath a sunny sky
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July-

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear-

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream-
Lingering in the golden gleam-
Life, what is it but a dream?"


This is an excerpt of Lewis Carroll's poem as it originally appears at the end of Through the Looking-Glass, which is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The poem ended with that famous Lewis Carroll quote "Life, what is it but a dream?". (And the parts in italic are my favourite parts of the poem).

Lewis Carroll's real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and he taught mathematics at Oxford University, in Christ Church College (yes, the famous Oxford College used extensively for the filming of Harry Potter).
Lewis Carroll wrote both books for Alice Pleasance Liddell, the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church College at Oxford University. And in fact, the first letter of each line of the poem will spell out her name! (Check it out for urself!) Because it conceals a name, this is called an acrostic poem.

Lewis Carroll is famous for the mathematical ideas and problems, and various puzzles that he included in both books. This is because in real life he was an ardent inventor of puzzles and games, which he would often send in letters and circulars to his friends, to see if they could solve them. I have a book called Lewis Carroll's Games and Puzzles which contains many of the mathematical and logical problems that Lewis Carroll intended to include in the last book he was working on (near the end of his life he worked on a book of mathematical puzzles and games but he died before it could be completed). If u can find the book, try it guys, it's really fun and damn difficult some of it can be too!

Here I give u an example of one of the more simpler (and easier) ones-
The Dodo says that the Hatter tells lies.
The Hatter says that the March Hare tells lies.
The March Hare says that both the Dodo and the Hatter tell lies.
Who is telling the truth?
Try and see if u can solve the puzzle!


Besides the two books on Alice, he wrote many other books, including mathematical textbooks for the undergraduates at Oxford and books about his mathematical discoveries. He published several books of poetry and two books about logic. He also wrote two other stories for children (about two characters called Sylvie and Bruno).


Alice in Wonderland is an extremely interesting book because essentially it is not really a childrens' book (just like Harry Potter!). It contains many philosophical questions about life, and includes many of those interesting puzzles I mentioned. And it is just a darn funny book!

Which is true also of Through the Looking Glass (the themes and settings of Through the Looking-Glass make it a kind of mirror image of Wonderland. As you would know, looking glass is another term for mirror, and the book is about how the world is like on the other side of the mirror, a question I've always find fascinating since I was a little girl!). This is an excerpt of one of my favourite part in the book -

" "Well, in our country" said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else- if you ran very fast for a long time as we've been doing."
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" "

Ain't it just hilarious?! ^_^ (But wouldn't it be easier to just stand still?! Since u have to keep running to stay in the same place, if u stand still u will then be somewhere else! Or at least u will stay in the same spot without needing to tire urself out!) See, the book just makes you think! Well, if u have enough curiosity that is ;) That's what I truly love about everything written by Charles Dodgson @ Lewis Carroll, THE MAN BEHIND ALICE.

Christ Church College looking breathtaking in snow

Me and my friends, Min and Hema, at Christ Church College in the winter during my BCL days in 2010

Us being silly. Gosh, really miss those days!

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson @ Lewis Carrol

The Real Alice (Alice Pleasance Liddell)

PS: For anyone interested in Mathematics and Logic, and of course in Lewis Caroll, I recommend a great book that I had just finished reading- Lewis Carroll in Numberland by Robin Wilson (Penguin Books)

PPS: Yes, I've published a 'similar' entry to this in my personal blog, Walking Contradiction. What can I say, I'm already exhibiting the affliction of my fellow academics (i.e. re-publishing) haha :p But seriously, it is only for this first entry (for the reasons stated in the 'preamble'- God, i'm so legal- above..) and be rest assured no other such 'repetitions' will feature in this blog ;)