Lewis Carroll Books

Angelica Carpenter has added to her impressive catalogue of author biographies written for children this one on Carroll, and the acknowledgement page indicates that she took pains over its accuracy by consulting the works and/or persons of several leading members of the Lewis Carroll Society. But she clearly had the good sense not to be overawed or confused by so many viewpoints, and has written here a clear and comprehensive survey of Carrollýs life which covers most of the important occurrences in a way which is accessible and appealing to the young audience at which she is aiming. Presumably on the relatively safe assumption that most of her readers will only know Carroll's Alice books (and maybe even only the Disney film version), she sensibly begins by recounting the story of the original telling of Alice's tale on a nineteenth-century July afternoon, and having enticed her young and therefore easily distracted audience in, is then able to segue neatly into the authorýs actual history. The book is profusely illustrated, and although few if any of the images are unfamiliar to adult devotees of Carroll, their very variety ý ranging amongst others from reproductions of Carrollýs and Tennielýs drawings, to photographs of and by Carroll and others, to ýMr Walker, Profilistýsý 1840 silhouette of Charles Dodgson as a child ý should help to ensure the continued attention throughout the book of the wayward young reader, as well as providing a valuable pictorial background to the biographical information.

I confess I was slightly taken aback to see reference made to the contentious topic of Carrollýs nude photography in Chapter 8, although the author deals with it there accurately and in the laudably proper context of both its perfect normality at the time and the extremely small number of such photographs that Carroll took. My unease was solely at whether this was, in view of the unhealthy interpretations imposed upon it nowadays, an appropriate subject to be mentioned in a childrenýs book at all, but I suspect that I am both very out-of-touch with how sophisticated young people have grown these days, and also with how widespread the wicked rumours are about Carroll that make it no longer possible to write such a book without in some manner dealing with them. Angelica Carpenter expertly dispatches the matter in little more than a page, pulling off the difficult feat of making it clear that the photographs were wholly innocent without implying any suggestion that they might not have been, and if the subject must be dealt with, I doubt it could be done much better. I am less comfortable with the second reference to the subject in the final chapter (Morton Cohenýs discovery of several nude child photographs in the Rosenbach Collection in the 1970s, which fuelled if not initiated the contemporary distrust of Carrollýs motives), but that chapter looks at Carrollian developments since his death, so I suppose this occurrence could not be omitted without rendering the biography dishonest.

In any event, I do not want to give a false impression of Angelica Carpenterýs book by dwelling too long on things which are beyond her control. Her biography is written for twenty-first century children, and although there are difficult matters to be briefly addressed along with the more agreeable account of Carrollýs unblemished life, she presents all her material with the same light touch, deftly ensuring that her young audience will be entertained whilst scarcely realising that they are being thoroughly informed at the same time. I think this excellent biography by Angelica Carpenter might well be helpful in creating enthusiasm among modern youngsters for Carroll himself, a delightfully funny and whimsical author whom they really should read!

I don't see it listed here at the time of this review, so I'll list the details on this item since I own it. Complete and unagridged with all the original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel including 16 full-color plates. 2 small books about as big as my palm in a cardboard box / sleeve type case. Charming.

The mere concept of war has always befuddled me. The fact that you may be a teacher in a classroom talking about math and the next week deep in a blood bath knowing that every second may be your last is beyond comprehension for most of us. This book reminds you very harshly that these things did happen and who can tell it better than the people who have fought? You realize how funny it sounds to be upset about a broken car or money lost in stock market when you read about face to face combat. I recommend this book to everyone who cries out for war at every chance they get. The stories cover wars from Greek times to WWI, WWII, Vietnam and Spanish Civil War and most are written by authors and poets so they are really capturing. There is even an excerpt from the journal of a German pilot from WWI. That is not something you read every day.

There's always something sad about reading the diaries and letters of combatants in a war zone. And there is always something poignant about reading the private words of those once living, who are now gone. I felt it when I read a book similar to this called "Eyewitness To History" but because this book's accounts dealt strictly with hostile occasions, I felt it more strongly here. A book like this touches many themes: the universality of human emotion, human desires, human fears. It also shows how much like we of today the people who lived long ago were. Minus the references to anachronistic armaments and military campaigns from history-text wars, the letters from a Revolutionary War soldier to his loved ones at home are nearly identical to those of the Vietnam War correspondences also reproduced here. Longing, loneliness, fear, suffering, these are conditions as old as our (or any other) species, and what I found myself taking away from my (not cover-to-cover but still extensive) reading of this work was less a contrasting of "then and now" but how often the ideas repeated. I found this book often sad. I would have thought I'd be immune to a record of a distant event composed by a person dust a century or more before my birth, but my reactions to some of what I read in here proved otherwise. Overall this is a fine reference book and a good read. It serves up a number of useful accounts of events, authored by persons contemporary to what was described. However, be mindful of what I wrote above: there is touching power here in the repetitive nature of human cruelty, war's evils, and the suffering--emotional and physical--that descends on soldiers, and those who care for them.

Martin Gardner avoids questionable psychoanalyticinterpretations, and instead describes the objects ofCarroll's satire that have been forgotten since the Victorian era. His notes allow us to fully enjoy Lewis Carroll's humor, and to see why Alice was so loved by children then (and by mathematicians now).

This is a collection of great nonsense verse from Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, most of which stands the test of time - beautifully illustrated by Nick Palin. My children (2 and 4) have adored this book for over a year now. They read it themselves - or at least look long and hard at the illustrations, and bring it to me to read to them over and over.

Most of these poems can easily be found in other books or collections. The advantage of this collection is that it is a small number of very good poems and (as I said before) they are really well illustrated. My children have rapidly learned quite a bit of each of the poems just from frequent re-reading.

Poems include The Crocodile, the Owl and the Pussycat, the Dong with the luminous nose, the Walrus and the carpenter - and my children's favourite - the Jumblies. I really enjoy The New Vestments which is one I had not seen before

In the rear of the book is the Index of titles and first lines which makes it simple to track down anything you particularly want to read.

I would definitely recommend this as a must have for a children's library. It is one of those lovely books which has opened my children's eyes to poetry and reading.

You have to be VERY deeply into Lewis Carroll to even consider this book. It has NOTHING whatsoever to do with Alice or any of the other classic characters.

What we do have is a very well collected, orderly, nicely edited and annotated collection of Carroll's political pamphlets, items which are otherwise almost impossible to read otherwise. But you really have to be interested in this stuff to appreciate it, otherwise why bother at all?

One thing I do really appreciate, and this probably accounts for the price, is the quality of the imprint. The print quality is very clear and easy on the eyes, something that is becoming a lost art.

In 1886 Oxford, Charles Dodgson hosts Dr. Arthur Doyle and his wife Touie at the school. Charles feels he owes the Doyles who recently entertained him while Arthur hopes his "mentor" will look at his latest manuscript. Both hope to avoid a mystery as has happened on their previous meetings (see the three previous PROBLEM OF ... books).

However, problems exist as someone has robbed sherry, watches, and tie-pins, etc. Charles accuses surly scout Ingram without any evidence. On top of that a coed Dianna Cahill informs Charles and his guests that she has received letters telling her to leave Oxford or else. The latest included a picture of her as a naked little girl taken by Charles years ago. When Charles finds Ingram murdered, the police and the university administration argue over jurisdiction. Everyone wonders whether Charles killed the servant he publicly fired. Arthur and Charles, with some help from Touie, investigate the homicide, the thefts, and the threat.

As with the first three novels in this engaging series, the mystery of THE PROBLEM OF THE SURLY SERVANT takes a back seat to the historical fiction, especially the insight into the two famous authors. The story line is fun to follow as readers see the human sides of Dodgson and Doyle as well as a chance to glimpse at Oxford and understand Touie. The mystery is cleverly designed, but Roberta Rogow's latest pairing is first and foremost a brilliant historical novel.

Harriet Klausner

BLTC Press out of Santa Cruz, CA. has done another Kindle-specific edition in this Feb 2008 release. Note the first one they did of this Lewis Carroll classic but for Alice in Wonderland done in Nov 2007.

As with the first Alice book, this also has the same illustrator as the original edition which makes it a delightful version. The illustrations are scattered throughtout the entire book and work well on the Kindle.

Together, these BLTC Press editions preloaded onto a Kindle e-reader gift to an older child seems a fabulous idea. At $399 a pop currently for a Kindle, this does seem like an expensive idea and I'm not sure there's a way to control a child downloading at will books from Amazon but I'm so happy to see Kindle supported so specifically by publishers this early on.

If Kindle really takes off and e-books start to get some serious widespread consumer interest, wouldn't it be great if special versions of Kindle could be produced for niche markets like children. This could supplement physical books who have the edge certainly with their ability to do special features like pop-ups, color, sounds etc but for classics like Alice which are more conventionally text based and translate well into just black and white, what a great way to add to the mix and continue to encourage older readers to read more and watch less TV and play video games.

This is the Alice book that will introduce Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Red and White Queens, the Jabberwocky, the Garden of Live Flowers and lots of other fanciful delights to another generation of children! Makes great adult reading as well ~(;->

This edition will cost more but I think you'll find it well worth it.

Bolster has approached "Alice" and one cannot help but feel that she has let the reader in on a secret between the girl/woman and the man who immortalized her. The secret, however, is a universal secret, and so, the reader is not left wondering what it all means (just some of it!).

Her mastery, then, is that she brings the reader into a secret, private world, and in so doing, brings the reader to him or herself, as well as to the poet -- something not easily accomplished in poetry.