Hunting down Lewis Carroll's brother

Writing the book has been like following a paper chase. A brother of Lewis Carroll made much less noise than the author himself and to bridge gaps in knowledge I turned to newspapers of the time- for example, tracing Wilfred's whereabouts in the gaps between Christ Church and Barmby Moor involved using the knowledge that he was fond of shooting and looking to the Game Lists published in newspapers. In fact maybe he did make more noise than Lewis Carroll on occasion..

Correspondence with Lord Boyne

Living only two or three miles away from Burwarton Hall, Wilfred wrote daily to Lord Boyne, sometimes twice daily, posting the letters locally and addressing them to Burwarton, Grosvenor Gardens or Brancepeth Castle. His letters generally served to update Lord Boyne with estate matters but occassionally touch on Dodgson family matters. This vast correspondence spanning the years 1873 to 1902 sheds considerable light on the family and the life of a Victorian land agent and features in the forthcoming book.

The Court, Cleobury North (1879)

Myths abound with any little known individual and Wilfred is no exception. One of the fairy tales that got me started on the project was that he overspent his buildings budget when working as land agent to Lord Boyne. Local people said that he wanted a lavish house ( Cleobury Court) and while Lord Boyne was away on a Grand Tour, popped in a spiral staircase and a few top fittings, resulting in a major overspend, which led to his P45.