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You're probably more likely to know Charles Lutwidge Dodgson as British author Lewis Carroll. He wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. But what you may not know is how close a relationship he forged with a young girl named Alice Liddell, the real Alice in Wonderland, and the inspiration behind his novels. This relationship has been heavily studied and scrutinized, with many believing it had Lolita-esque aspirations. Dodgson wrote under a pseudonym, and the first in the series, often shortened to Alice in Wonderland, centers on the titular character falling into a rabbit hole and meeting a serious of fantastical creatures. The book is one of a few that has maintained its popularity despite being published over 150 years ago, like Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House On The Prairie series. Dodgson wasn't simply a writer. He studied mathematics at Oxford University and was a skilled photographer. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson photos are interesting due to their subject matter. Over 50 percent of his surviving photographs depict prepubescent girls. Lewis Carroll and children go hand and hand. He loved children, and they loved him. Over the years, many have questioned his relationships with young girls, although there's no conclusive evidence that he acted on what very well may have been impure impulses. He Marked The Day He First Met Alice As Being Very Significant On April 25, 1856, Dodgson, then 24, first met Alice and her sisters while they were playing in a garden. He later wrote in his diary that the date had a special significance. At the time, he was busy photographing the cathedral, and the girls were drawn to him. The family later asked him to take pictures of them. He had dress-up clothes and toys in his studio to entertain the girls. Julia Margaret Cameron/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Caroll Developed His Famous Story After Taking A Boat Ride With Alice & Her Sisters On July 4, 1862, Dodgson took a boat ride from Oxford to Godstow with Reverend Robinson Duckworth, and his good friend Henry Liddell's, three daughters: 8-year-old Edith, 10-year-old Alice, and 13-year-old Lorina. At the time, Dodgson was a mathematician. He was tasked with entertaining the children and created a delightful story with a multitude of strange and unusual characters. He made Alice the protagonist. Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons Carroll Had Numerous "Child Friends" But Alice Was Particularly Special To Him In 1960, historian Martin Gardner published The Annotated Alice (revisions were made in 1999.) He noted that Carroll befriended many young girls over the course of his life, but Alice was different from all the others. "A long procession of charming little girls (we know today that they were charming from their photographs) skipped through Carroll's life, but none ever took the place of his first love, Alice Liddell. 'I have had some scores of child-friends since your time,' he wrote to her after her marriage, 'but they have been quite a different thing.'" Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain His Photographs & Paintings Were Mostly Of Nude Or Semi-Nude Young Girls Aged 10-15 Dodgson's apparent fascination with young girls has caused biographers to examine what type of relationships he had with the children he wrote about, took photographs of, and painted. Most of his subjects were girls between the ages of 10 and 15. While much of his photography portfolio is missing, more than 50 percent of his remaining work concentrates on nude or semi-nude portraits of girls. Some suggest this is evidence he may have been a pedophile. Before he died, he wrote, “A girl of about 12 is my ideal beauty of form.” However, during the Victorian era, it wasn't uncommon for nude photos of children to be depicted on postcards, birthday cards, or works of art. Children were considered innocent beings. These depictions were not of a sexual nature but of chastity and purity. Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain His Relationship With Alice Abruptly Ended & Some Think It's Because He Wanted To Marry The 11-Year-Old In 1863, something happened between Dodgson and the Liddells that severed their relationship for quite some time. Prior to that, he saw the children nearly every day. Scholars don't know what caused the rift, but Dodgson stopped socializing with the Liddells for several months. Following Dodgson's death, a page in his diary was removed that may have provided some insight. Florence Becker Lennon wrote in Victoria Through the Looking Glass (1945) that Dodgson may have been interested in marrying Alice, who was 11 years old. His proposal may have scared the family because such a thing was not acceptable, even in the Victorian era. Dodgson eventually reconciled with the Liddells but never again spent time with their daughters. In 1864, Dodgson gifted Alice his book, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. The following year, when Alice was 12, Dodgson wrote that she had changed as a person. Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain He Took This Infamous, Provocative Photo Of Alice As A Beggar Girl One of his most famous photographs is of Alice is when she is six years old and appears as a beggar girl. She has no shoes on, and her dress is falling off her shoulders. The image may have been inspired by the Lord Tennyson poem "The Beggar Maid." Alice is leaning against a wall in a garden in a provocative pose. Her arms, legs, and top of her chest are bare. She looks pitiful, yet the viewer is drawn to the sexually suggestive image. Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain He Once Wrote: "I Am Fond Of Children (But Not Boys)" Perhaps one reason why scholars have questioned Dodgson's relationship with young girls was that he is credited with writing: "I am fond of children (except boys)." He was also an accomplished photographer, and most of his subjects were little girls. He met them in all kinds of places (the beach, on trains, through acquaintances) and became their friend. Alice Liddell, in particular, was one of his favorite little girls. Artist Gertrude Thomson, who drew pictures of fairies and nymphs, received a letter from Dodgson in which he wrote: "I confess I do not admire naked boys in pictures. They always seem... to need clothes, whereas one hardly sees why the lovely forms of girls should ever be covered up." Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Carroll Wrote To A Young Girl That He Enjoyed Kissing The Lock Of Hair She Sent Him Dodgson was bold about the tenderness (and possible romantic love) he felt for his young female friends. He once wrote to a 10-year-old girl that he was happy to have her hair to kiss, but he'd rather kiss her instead: "Extra thanks and kisses for the lock of hair. I have kissed it several times - for want of having you to kiss, you know, even hair is better than nothing." It was common for Dodgson to write these types of things in his letters. In another, he wrote to a mother suggesting that she bring her daughter along to their get together: "And would it be de rigueur that there should be a third to dinner? Tête à tête is so much the nicest." Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain He Was Obsessed With Prepubescent Girls, But Did He Act On His Impulses? Dodgson spent much of his time with his childhood friends, and it seems pretty clear that he was attracted to young girls. But there's no evidence that he had sexual relationships with any of them. He mentioned he was afflicted by "the inclinations of my sinful heart". He was able to battle his impure thoughts by focusing on his mathematics work. He once wrote that performing calculations helped combat "unholy thoughts, which torture with their hateful presence, the fancy that would fain be pure." In 1933, writer A.M.E. Goldschmidt submitted an essay to Oxford called “Alice in Wonderland Psycho-Analysed.” He insinuated that Dodgson had sexual feelings for Alice. The proof? Alice falling down the well was a metaphor for sex. Goldschmidt was not an expert in psychology, yet his commentary spurned others to make similar correlations. Biographer Morton Cohen examined Dodgson's diaries and determined that the writer was most disturbed and had problems sleeping following the days he spent with Alice. He dealt with his emotions by writing whimsical stories and ultimately his tour de force, Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain His Final Photograph Of Alice Is Very Telling Over time, Alice grew sick of Dodgson's attention. While he lived like Peter Pan - the boy who never grew up - Alice did grow up. He photographed his muse for the final time when she was 18 years old. The image, taken in 1870, is striking. She is dressed in fine clothes with her hands clasped on her lap. She looks uncomfortable and strained. If the eyes are truly the window to the soul, then it appears as if she's bored and irritated by the intrusion. After marrying and having three sons (two of whom died in World War I), she experienced a brief bit of fame in the United States. She wrote in a letter to her surviving son Caryl (notice the name) that she was "tired of being Alice in Wonderland!” Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain His Obituary Noted He Was Very Fond Of Children Dodgson's love of children was not only well known, it was also celebrated. His obituary in the London Daily Graphic described him like this: “like many bachelors, he was very popular with children and very fond of them.” His nephew Stuart Collingwood noted that his uncle had several "child friends," and he wrote a biography that included two chapters about these girls. He mentioned how Dodgson would regularly hug and kiss the children. And even though Dodgson was friends with women as well, these friendships were not included in the book. In general, people viewed him as kind, generous man who got along very well with kids. Lewis Carroll/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Alice Nearly Married A Prince Alice turned into a stunning young woman and met Queen Victoria's youngest son, Prince Leopold. The pair fell in love, but couldn't wed because she was not of royal blood. Alice married a man named Reginald Hargreaves, and the prince tied the knot with a German princess. In 1883, Leopold had a daughter whom he named Alice. In turn, Alice named her second son Leopold and her first love became his godfather. Julia Margaret Cameron/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Credits: ranker.com

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