Through a glass, darkly.

It was Paul who originally wrote that phrase (or, rather, the Greek that was translated into that phrase), but if you think about it, it was Charles Dodgson who actually sent his character through the glass. And that is perhaps a fitting description of this book, because Charles Dodgson was one of the most opaque characters in history. Although we have many, many of his writings, and many, many descriptions of him from child-friends and others, we have very little emotional insight into him. He did not reveal his deepest secrets, even in his diaries, and as a single man with no close adult friends, he rarely talked about his emotional life.

So what is there left as a means of learning about him? What but, obviously, his letters. His thousands upon thousands of letters. Close to a hundred thousand, according to his letter register, but most of these are gone. That still left enough to fill two fat volumes, of which this is a distillation.

It still doesn't reveal all that much. Oh, there are clear instances of Dodgson's incredible fussiness (several of his letters to his illustrators reveal his whining). There are also signs of a certain defensiveness. But much of what is here is simply letters to his young friends, clever, funny, peculiar -- but not personal.

Also, the context is sometimes lacking. Take page 148, a letter from 1885 to E. Gertrude Thomson. Thomson, although he met her as an adult, was very important to him -- she illustrated some of his works; she quite frankly went on dates with him; she chaperoned some of his photo sessions; she made a portrait of him and eulogized him after his death. To understand the letters to her, you need to know some of that. But the letter on p. 148 -- the first letter to her in the collection -- doesn't say anything about her or who she is. In the case of Thomson, I know the answer. But what about his hundreds of other correspondents? This lack of information is a real defect.

Of course, if all you want to do is enjoy Dodgson's funny prose, it isn't an issue. But most people read authors' letters to learn about the author. This particular collection isn't much help in that regard. ( )