Hopping in and out of Dimbola today, up and down the lane in the bright sunshine it's half-term- and the Bay is beginning to wake up for the season ahead...
What was Plumbly's Hotel, these days is called 'The Fellowship' and I can see from here families setting off for the beach, or up to the Needles on a long trek over Tennyson Down.
It isn't so different a scene to the one that Dodgson saw himself when he was staying here, just one thing that helps me to imagine his imagination running amok...
When Julia Margaret Cameron held Bohemian Court at Dimbola, it was noisy ( as it is now ) with people rushing hither and thither all-about a photographic mission, or an esteemed visitor expected
( again not dissimilar, ) however we might see Lewis Carroll's personage today as one which might command some attention. That's because we are looking backwards from the point of view of his success.
The Victorian reality was somewhat different...
Chapter Two
'Trying to Lionise'
When Dodgson first visited Freshwater Bay on April 13th 1859, this would be the second rather 'engineered' visit to see Tennyson at his Farringford home- something he refutes ( a little too vehemently ) in a letter dated May 11th of the same year to his Cousin William:-
" Wilfred ( Charles' brother ) must have basely misrepresented me if he said that I followed the Laureate down to his retreat, as I went, not knowing he was there, to stay with an old college friend at Freshwater. Being there, I had the inalienable right of a freeborn Briton to make a morning call, which I did, in spite of my friend Collyns having assured me that the Tennysons had not yet arrived."
Before the Alice stories were thought of, Dodgson had studied Tennyson's work, paying close attention to any letters he 'might' have written to The Times, and scribing a clever parody of 'Two Voices' a Tennyson poem- which he turned into 'Three Voices' in 1856. It wasn't uncommon for poets to parody each other- but Dodgson did this with a high and mighty twist- there were three voices in the poem- not two- so Dodgson showed himself in a superior manner.
Apparently Tennyson was a bit 'stung' by this, but he also had to deal with a lot of this stuff, and he still allowed Dodgson to photograph his family in 1857.
At Freshwater, it seems, the Poet felt inclined to be cordial. Emily his wife was unwell, so he used this as a reason for sending Dodgson away, and not extending a dinner invitation. However Dodgson turned up for tea, and supper the next night- and even managed to squeeze in a morning visit- extracting some lines of poetry from Lionel.
Dodgson's self-confessed forte was what he called 'lionising', which meant that he ingratiated himself first with the children ( with whom he always lost his speech impediment ) and in doing so- scored emotional blackmail points with the parents.
In April of 1862, Dodgson was back at Farringford again, meeting Benjamin Jowett there, whom he had been verociously writing 'squibs' about at Oxford. All that Emily Tennyson says of this time in her somewhat 'sanitised' diary is 'the Henry Taylors & their daughters & Mr Dodgson here at this time & we see them often'. Not so much of Alfred though- as Charles records in his letter to a sister following the holiday ' I have seen hardly anything more of Mr Tennyson- and day-time does not seem propitious to getting much conversation out of him'.
He did manage to catch up with the two boys Hallam and Lionel on the beach and teach them how to fight 'The Battle of Waterloo', and he did give Lionel a pen-knife which concerned Emily. He had also photographed Emily with her sons unsuccessfully in Emily's eyes, who demanded all copies destroyed.
By August 1862, ( after the famous Oxford boating picnic that gave birth to Alice in Wonderland ) Tennyson sent a strong arrow across Dodgson's bow, concerning Charles' pirated copy of early verse published only in America, he records:- 'The sale of the American reprint of Tennyson's early poems is objected as an infringement of copyright. Wrote to Tennyson begging permission to keep the book.'
When Dodgson visited again for three weeks in 1864, the snub was complete, he was not invited to Farringford, and had to content himself at the 'Court of Queen Julia' at Dimbola instead. For photography assignment, he was allowed the Tradespeople- 'The Gardener and the Carpenter.'
Later, at the time he was putting 'Through the Looking Glass' to bed, the quarrel escalated tremendously. Dodgson had not taken his place properly amongst the rebuked. He wrote to Tennyson requesting permission to show poetry and a manuscript that Tennyson had allowed to be set to music- 'to be shown to his friends'.
Tennyson somewhat grandiously decided he had not quite gotten the point, and accused Dodgson of not being a 'Gentleman'. Long-held Hero-worship, and presumably scorn combined in Dodgsons mind and imagination.
Here we begin our un-masking of characters...
Enough for today, my Emily. The next two pages are all-about the unmasking. We shall pick up tomorrow at Julia's house, and how Dodgson found the motley crew!
Sleep tight little one, your ever-loving Grand-mother, GiGi xxx
Before the Alice stories were thought of, Dodgson had studied Tennyson's work, paying close attention to any letters he 'might' have written to The Times, and scribing a clever parody of 'Two Voices' a Tennyson poem- which he turned into 'Three Voices' in 1856. It wasn't uncommon for poets to parody each other- but Dodgson did this with a high and mighty twist- there were three voices in the poem- not two- so Dodgson showed himself in a superior manner.
Apparently Tennyson was a bit 'stung' by this, but he also had to deal with a lot of this stuff, and he still allowed Dodgson to photograph his family in 1857.
At Freshwater, it seems, the Poet felt inclined to be cordial. Emily his wife was unwell, so he used this as a reason for sending Dodgson away, and not extending a dinner invitation. However Dodgson turned up for tea, and supper the next night- and even managed to squeeze in a morning visit- extracting some lines of poetry from Lionel.
Dodgson's self-confessed forte was what he called 'lionising', which meant that he ingratiated himself first with the children ( with whom he always lost his speech impediment ) and in doing so- scored emotional blackmail points with the parents.
In April of 1862, Dodgson was back at Farringford again, meeting Benjamin Jowett there, whom he had been verociously writing 'squibs' about at Oxford. All that Emily Tennyson says of this time in her somewhat 'sanitised' diary is 'the Henry Taylors & their daughters & Mr Dodgson here at this time & we see them often'. Not so much of Alfred though- as Charles records in his letter to a sister following the holiday ' I have seen hardly anything more of Mr Tennyson- and day-time does not seem propitious to getting much conversation out of him'.
He did manage to catch up with the two boys Hallam and Lionel on the beach and teach them how to fight 'The Battle of Waterloo', and he did give Lionel a pen-knife which concerned Emily. He had also photographed Emily with her sons unsuccessfully in Emily's eyes, who demanded all copies destroyed.
By August 1862, ( after the famous Oxford boating picnic that gave birth to Alice in Wonderland ) Tennyson sent a strong arrow across Dodgson's bow, concerning Charles' pirated copy of early verse published only in America, he records:- 'The sale of the American reprint of Tennyson's early poems is objected as an infringement of copyright. Wrote to Tennyson begging permission to keep the book.'
When Dodgson visited again for three weeks in 1864, the snub was complete, he was not invited to Farringford, and had to content himself at the 'Court of Queen Julia' at Dimbola instead. For photography assignment, he was allowed the Tradespeople- 'The Gardener and the Carpenter.'
Later, at the time he was putting 'Through the Looking Glass' to bed, the quarrel escalated tremendously. Dodgson had not taken his place properly amongst the rebuked. He wrote to Tennyson requesting permission to show poetry and a manuscript that Tennyson had allowed to be set to music- 'to be shown to his friends'.
Tennyson somewhat grandiously decided he had not quite gotten the point, and accused Dodgson of not being a 'Gentleman'. Long-held Hero-worship, and presumably scorn combined in Dodgsons mind and imagination.
Here we begin our un-masking of characters...
Enough for today, my Emily. The next two pages are all-about the unmasking. We shall pick up tomorrow at Julia's house, and how Dodgson found the motley crew!
Sleep tight little one, your ever-loving Grand-mother, GiGi xxx
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