MacDonald Intertextuality

Dearest Emily,

A boat beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echoes fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —

Lingering in the golden gleam —

Life, what is it but a dream?

Lewis Carroll's poem at the end of 'Through the Looking Glass' spelling out his muse's name at the beginning of each line  ( and is considered to be inspiration by 'row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream...Life is but a dream." )

We recently alighted at Christchurch Oxford where we discovered the White Rabbit's identity, so let's stay on the mainland for a bit whilst we see how Charles worked his threads all together.

We are currently looking at 1860 and at a time in Dodgson's life where as we have previously seen he was in the habit of using his camera as an entree to society and to befriend families, photographing their off-spring profusely.

The MacDonalds were key players in our story thus far.

George MacDonald was the Father of eleven children ( the wrong side of a dozen, he is quoted as quipping. ) We see here from the left his wife Louisa along with Greville, Mary, Irene and Grace. Dodgson himself appears in the picture and is thought to have taken it with an early form of self-timing device.
George and Charles met in 1860 when both had sought help in London for their respective stammers. Two years prior to this, George had published 'Phantastes' ('The story concerns a young man who is pulled into a dreamlike world and there hunts for his ideal of female beauty, embodied by the "Marble Lady". Anodos lives through many adventures and temptations while in the other world, until he is finally ready to give up his ideals' -  Methinks Dodgson knew this work quite well Em's. )

That same year, Charles friend Alexander Munro was creating a sculpture "The Boy and the Dolphin" ( which can be seen to this day in Hyde Park ) of which, Greville ( pictured above ) was the sitter. Watched by his sister Mary, an excerpt from Dodgsons diary sums up the beginning of their friendship-
" They were a girl and a boy, about six and seven years old- I claimed their acquaintance and began at once proving to the boy, Greville, that he had better take the opportunity of having his head changed for a marble one. The effect was that in about two minutes they had entirely forgotten that I was a total stranger, and were earnestly arguing the question as if we were old acquaintances ."

At Christmas 1860, Queen Victoria was visiting Christchurch and Dodgson was taken aback by her short and dumpy figure. The next year was spent getting ordained, publishing an algebraeic pamphlet, and socially favouring croquet on the Deanery lawns, playing cards with the Liddell children, and punting on the river with them.

On July 5th 1862 ( having this year moved to Tom Quad just across from the Deanery ) Dodgson set off up the Isis on a punt, and famously told young Alice a tale. It began ( he says ) with a Rabbit disappearing down a hole, followed by the heroine- but at that point he wasn't sure what was about to happen.

But happen it did, and now it happened fast. Dodgson worked away at the manuscript, running it by the MacDonalds who were encouraging him. Greville recounts-
" My mother read the story to us.When she came to an end, I being aged six, exclaimed that there ought to be sixty thousand volumes of it " ( What is that saying Emily about the truth that comes out of the mouths of babes and sucklings?)

By 1863, it's not too hard to put together Alice, croquet ( flamingo being the puck ) the living cards being the playing cards, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert making an appearance and the fantasy tales written by his contemporaries as driving Dodgson's first children's book.

The MacDonalds continued their encouragement and may possibly have assisted Dodgson's first meeting with Macmillan publishers who had recently published 'The Water Babies' by the Reverend Charles Kingsley ( an early praiser of Darwins 'Origin of the Species'. ) A year later all was ready for publication.

There is no record I have yet come across of Dodgson falling out and parodying MacDonald. Whatever it was he did, this one did right by the oft criticized as 'hyper-critical' Dodgson.

Towards the end of Dodgson's life he retained a great interest in children's books and their writers, recommending titles to his children friends.

George MacDonalds children's books still hold a high esteem and re-sale value to this day dans le book-world- though not as high as Lewis Carroll's it's nice to see someone ( I think so far in my research ), escaped his squib!

As usual, your ever-loving Grand-mother GiGi xxx

Much of this post I have derived from 'The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll by Stuart Dodgson Collingwood, and most helpfully from Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass By Angelica Shirley Carpenter, which I have just ordered on Amazon-yey!