Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 3279 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
Charles L. Dodgson's publications on political subjects offer a very different view of Lewis Carroll, the man made famous by his “Alice” books. Better known for whimsical and nonsense writings, Dodgson wrote on the entire spectrum of voting theory, applying it to issues of local governance at Christ Church College in the University of Oxford, where he was employed all of his professional life—mainly as Mathematical Lecturer—and to issues of national politics. Yet this work remained largely unknown at his death.

This third volume of a planned series of six is a comprehensive account of Dodgson's publications on voting theory. Francine F. Abeles offers a fresh perspective on his contributions to what was then an embryonic school of politics. Drawing together all of Dodgson's pamphlets, letters, diary entries, and other pieces on this subject, Abeles traces the development of Dodgson's theory of voting from its beginnings in his participation in the academic affairs of the University of Oxford to his attempts to influence the outcome of bills before the British Parliament affecting the extension of the voting franchise and the redistribution of seats in the House of Commons.

Collected together for the first time, these writings deal with such topics as ranking methods, voting anomalies, sophisticated voting, proportional representation, apportionment, and applications of game theory to voting strategies. Dodgson's commitment to objectivity and fairness also led him to employ his methods in such sports applications as horse racing wagers and tennis tournament schedules.

Each chapter of this book is preceded by an introductory essay providing background information and analyses to assist both the general reader and the specialist. The Pamphlets of Lewis Carroll will be of interest to students and scholars of Carroll's work, to political scientists, historians, and mathematicians, and to readers concerned with Victorian studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For the REALLY obsessive fan
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Getting even deeper into Lewis Carroll
This is certainly not a book for the casual Lewis Carroll fan, but a book for the hard-core, already-own-the-complete-letters-and-diaries kind of fan. It's a fascinating look at Dodgson's Oxford writings, including many previously unseen by the public.

Charles Dodgson's Oxford writings are full of items that the average person, having not been to Oxford in the 1800's, might despair to understand, if it were not for the helpful explanations supplied by the editors of this collection. These explanations make these writings accessable, allowing us to explore a microcosm of collegiate life. Dodgson expresses massive displeasure with the architectural and staff changes going on at the college, often with satire so biting that you wonder how many friends he must have lost with these little publications.

There are also a couple more serious papers about doings at the college, followed by a tremendous amount of circulars about the common room at the college, which Dodgson was curator of. These circulars are very dry, sometimes amounting to no more than lists of wines in the cellars. These papers take up almost half the book, and present a problem: Surely every Lewis Carroll fan wants a complete collection of his writings, but is this simply too much? However, if they weren't included, the readers would be left wondering if there was anything worthwhile in these papers, and the answer is that yes, about 5% of these papers are worth reading.

Once again, this book is for the truly hard-core Carroll nut. If you enjoyed all the writings in, say, the Modern Library "Works of" Lewis Carroll, then you might enjoy this. But it is not for casual fans, especially at the gold-plated price of [money]. ... Read more

Book Description

Term paper due tomorrow? Need to cram for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Novels for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by Thomson Gale--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: plot summary; character analysis; author biography; an overview of the novel's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Novels For Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: Thomson Gale--and "Novels for Students."Download Description

Term paper due tomorrow? Need to bone up for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Novels for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by the Gale Group--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: plot summary; character analysis; author biography; an overview of the novel's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Novels For Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: The Gale Group--and "Novels for Students." ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs collection. ... Read more

Book Description
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's death, the LCSNA presents the first ever collection of obituaries and related pieces concerning that event.Includes obituaries from scaores of papers around the world, obituaries in verse, and the text of the sermon given at Carroll's Christ Church memorial service.A unique reference. ... Read more