Lewis Carroll

By Illa Vij

THE world of Alice — Alice in Wonderland — where children love to enter was a creation of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who adopted the pen name Lewis Carroll. Lewis was born on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury, near Washington, Lancanshire. He first went to Rugby and then Oxford for his education. He graduated from Christ Church College of Oxford University. At the age of 23, he became a lecturer at Christ Church College. He had serious thoughts of joining the Church. In 1861, he even took Deacon’s orders, but his shy nature and tendency to stammer prevented him from becoming a priest. He studied mathematics and lectured well. He loved the company of children and even enjoyed telling them stories.

One day, the three daughters of Dean of Christ (Alice Liddell was one of them) accompanied him to the meadows down the river. They went rowing and landed in the meadows. Since it was a very hot summer afternoon, they took refuge in a hayrick. Here he told them the delightful tale of Alice. By the age of 33, Lewis had brought out this tale in the form of a book titled Alice’s Adventures Underground. It was handwritten, illustrated and bound to be presented to Alice Liddell as a gift for Christmas in 1864. The printed version was first published in 1865, titled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The manuscript volume now at the British Museum was presented to the nation in 1948. The Queen was also one of the countless admirers who fell under the spell of the enchanting tale. It is believed that she had given instructions that the author’s next work must also reach her. The next work was on mathematics and Her Majesty’s reaction is not on record!

Lewis was a perfectionist and that was one of the reason’s why he gave his publisher Macmillan such a hard time. He rejected the first set of printing, and after much scrutiny the book was printed. He was very fussy about the quality of paper and colour of cloth used for binding.

Besides his love for mathematics and writing, Lewis enjoyed photography and exhibited perfection in this field too. Lewis never got married. Around the age of 40, he wrote Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, which was a continuation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. He wrote a fairytale in verse and prose titled Sylvia and Bruno. He also wrote the poem The Hunting of the Snark. Besides literary works, Lewis wrote books on mathematics too. Alice in Wonderland has been translated into more than 30 languages. Even the blind have read it, as it has been published in braille. Lewis died in 1898.

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift, a great English satirist and author of Gulliver’s Travels, led a tragic life. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 30, 1667. At the age of 15, Swift entered Trinity College. Even at this young age, he was disdainful of regulations. With great difficulty, he was granted his degree. In 1668, he became secretary to the English statesman and author, Sir William Temple. Due to a quarrel, he left his services Later however, he returned. He fell in love with Hester Johnson, whom he called Stella. He wrote letters to her, which were published after his death as Journal to Stella. He wrote to her twice a day.

Sir William Temple died in 1699, and in 1700, Swift became vicar of a small parish in a place near Dublin. In 1713, Swift was appointed dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1924, The Drapier Letters were published and then came Gulliver’s Travels. Gulliver’s Travels were written as a satire on England, but enjoyed as a fairytale by children. He also wrote The Battle of the Books in 1697 which reflected his resentment for life, to which he was unable to adjust. His Tale of a Tub was published in 1704.

During the last few years of his life, Swift suffered from poor health which later gave way to insanity. He died on October 19, 1745. He was buried in his cathedral, in the same vault with his wife Stella, whom he had secretly married. He had left all his property to found an asylum for the insane.