Lewis Carroll, a biography - 1995

AUTHOR:

Morton N. Cohen

Although described by the publishers as 'definitive', this isn't by any means a definitive study. But Cohen's massive work was still a completely different prospect from any previous biography. It is in most ways highly scholarly and well-researched, and is a truly essential book for anyone interested in Dodgson's life and indeed the development of the mythology. However, despite this achievment, Cohen's book inexplicably retreats into repeating many of the most blatantly false claims of earlier biographers. Very strangely he lists the numbers of intimate woman-friends that Dodgson had through his life, yet still feels able to conclude that Dodgson's existence revolved exclusively around friendships with small girls. Also, like Clark, Cohen believes strongly in the 'Alice love story', though by this stage, he must have been aware of the almost total lack of data to support it. Indeed, even this scholar follows Clark and Taylor and quite wilfully invents 'facts' in support of his belief where none exist.

SOUNDBITE:

myth-maker or myth-breaker? he doesn't seem to know

IMPACT AND INFLUENCE:

Diminished by the rise of the 'new Lewis Carroll studies' within a few years of the book's publication.