'Any road can get you there'

 

“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll   

 

Born in Daresbury, England on this date in 1832, Carroll – the pseudonym for Charles Dodson – was the eldest in a family of 11 children and grew adept at entertaining his siblings with his storytelling ability.

 

It was something he continued doing into his 20s and 30s, including for the children of good friend Henry Liddell.   It was Henry's daughter Alice who can be credited with Carroll's pinnacle inspiration. On a picnic outing with the Liddell family, Caroll told Alice and her sisters an amazing tale of a dream world called Wonderland.  Alice was so enamored she insisted Carroll write the story down so she could both relive it and share it with her friends.

 

Ultimately, the story fell into the hands of novelist Henry Kingsley, and in 1865 he urged Carroll to publish it.  That year the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was born.  It would become the most popular children’s book in England, then America, and then throughout the world by the time of Carroll’s death in 1898.

 

How did a professional mathematician and photographer spin such a yarn?  Perhaps two of his lasting quotes will suffice: “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.”  And, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road can get you there.”