In the Shadow of the Dreamchild: A New Understanding of Lewis Carroll is a 1999 book by British author Karoline Leach that posited the concept of the "Carroll Myth": the idea that many of the most famous aspects of Lewis Carroll's biography, including his supposed adoration of Alice Liddell, are more legend than fact.
Its main contentions are:
Lewis Carroll was not 'exclusively focused' on female children as has been claimed by all previous biographers.
He did not 'lose interest' in girls over the age of 14, and that many of his so-called 'child-friends' had actually been grown women.
Alice Liddell was not 'the real Alice', and that Carroll was never in love with her, or asked to marry her.
His relationships with adult women have been consistently under-examined and misreported.
His life was haunted by an unnamed pain that may have involved a guilty love affair.
The book has had considerable impact on Carroll studies and reactions to it have been very polarised.[citation needed]
shadow, dreamchild, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2014, learn, . This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message In the Shadow of the Dreamchild A New Understanding of Lewis Carroll is a 1999 book by British author Karoline Leach that posited the concept of the Carroll Myth the idea that many of the most famous aspects of Lewis Carroll s biography including his supposed adoration of Alice Liddell are more legend than fact Its main contentions are Lewis Carroll was not exclusively focused on female children as has been claimed by all previous biographers He did not lose interest in girls over the age of 14 and that many of his so called child friends had actually been grown women Alice Liddell was not the real Alice and that Carroll was never in love with her or asked to marry her His relationships with adult women have been consistently under examined and misreported His life was haunted by an unnamed pain that may have involved a guilty love affair The book has had considerable impact on Carroll studies and reactions to it have been very polarised citation needed See also editMorton N Cohen Hugues LebaillyFurther reading editRonnen Meir Lewis Carroll s girls Jerusalem Post 20 May 1999 subscription required Heptonstall Geoffrey In the Shadow of the Dreamchild Contemporary Review August 1999 Accessed 11 April 2011 dead link Rankin Donald Review Victorian Studies 43 4 650 653 Summer 2001 doi 10 1353 vic 2001 0112 subscription required Shulevitz Judith THE CLOSE READER What Was on Lewis Carroll s Mind The New York Times 7 April 2002 Accessed 11 April 2011 External links editIn the Shadow of the Dreamchild website for the book nbsp This article about a biographical book on writers or poets is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title In the Shadow of the Dreamchild amp oldid 1082804721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
