George MacDonald (the pen-name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson); it was MacDonald's advice, and the enthusiastic reception of "Alice" by MacDonald's many sons and daughters, that convinced Carroll to submit "Alice" for publication. Carroll, one of the finest Victorian photographers, also created photographic portraits of several of the MacDonald children. MacDonald was also friends with John Ruskin, and served as a go-between in Ruskin's long courtship with Rose La Touche. While in America he was befriended by Longfellow and Walt Whitman. As hinted above, MacDonald's use of fantasy as a literary medium for exploring the human condition greatly influenced a generation of notable
John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth John Charlesworth Dodgson-Charlesworth (1815–1880) was a British colliery owner and Member of Parliament for Wakefield between 1857 and 1859. Defeated by his Liberal opponent, William Henry Leatham at the 1859 general election both he and Leatham were subsequently found to have conducted extensive bribery during the campaign. Dodgson-Charlesworth was the son of John Dodgson Charlesworth of Chapelthorpe, Sandal, Wakefield. Baptised 20 August 1815, he was educated at Sedbergh School and St John's College, Cambridge, graduating from St John's with a BA in 1837 and an MA in 1840. In the 1841 census he is described as a