In the Shadow of the Dreamchild: The Myth and Reality of Lewis Carroll - Softcover

Karoline Leach

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0720618592 ISBN 13: 9780720618594

Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers, 2015

Synopsis

The most significant biographical work on the author of the Alice books to be published in recent years, In The Shadow Of The Dreamchild deconstructs standardized myths about Lewis Carroll with forensic rigour. Inaugurating a radical critical reassessment of Carroll and a deconstruction of the Carroll Myth, Leach's book polarized critics on first publication, though many of her insights have since gained traction and widespread acceptance. Karoline Leach researched the subject extensively and her book contends that Carroll was far from being emotionally and sexually obsessed with female children, nor his supposed muse Alice Liddell. Her book details how the false image of Carroll came into being to veil his mutual adoration of women of all ages, married and single - relationships that would have scandalized the Victorian audience for whom he was an admired celebrity and an 'innocent'. Through access to Carroll's family archive, Leach discovered documents that other writers had overlooked. She found hints that another member of Alice Liddell's family was of more interest to Carroll . . . A radical re-evaluation of the life and work of one of England's most mysterious literary figures, the revised edition - here presented as a 150th anniversary collectible paperback - expands on Leach's important work. A film based on the insights of In The Shadow Of The Dreamchild is currently in production.

About this title

Review:

At last, a book with something different and surprising to say about Lewis Carroll. --Daily Mail

Excellent. --The Spectator

We are nearer now than before, I think, to the man who wrote Alice. --David McKie, The Guardian

About the Author:

KAROLINE LEACH lives in the West Country. Trained as an actress, she has written for the theatre since the early 1990s and her play 'The Mysterious Mr Love' was produced in the West End for the Comedy Theatre, receiving much praise. 'Tryst', her most recent play, premiered off-Broadway in 2006.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0720618592
• ISBN 13: 9780720618594
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 358