Lewis Carroll puzzles

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33442, 25 January 1974, Page 13

Lewis Carroll puzzles

The Magic of Lewis Carroll. Edited by John Fisher. Nelson. 288 pp. Index. In 1875 Lewis Carroll wrote to Tenniel about a plan for printing a book of original puzzles which he intended to call “Alice’s Puzzle-Book”. Had it ever materialised, it would no doubt have been an enchanting blend of nonsense, wit and mathematical ingenuity. Carroll’s delight in mystification and entertainment was apparently inexhaustible; as well as possessing a spectacular magician's repertoire of gadgets and effects, he was continually thinking up ideas for games and puzzles, riddles and charades, and over the years accumulated an extensive collection of them It is this material which Mr Fisher has drawn on in compiling his book; and in addition he has included a number of tricks which were in circulation at the time, and would have been known to Carroll. The book is thus a fascinating excursion into the .world of Victorian magic and entertainment. There are charades and acrostics, riddles, origami and zany mathematics; there is magic with mirrors, an ingenious game of “Castle Croquet”, and much else which would have delighted Carroll’s own White Knight. In short, while this is not a substitute for "Alice’s Puzzle-Book”, it has enough of the Carroll flavour to make it a very special sort of magic book that will delight children and adults alike.