It has recently been discovered that Lewis Carroll’s bank account is still in existence. It had lain forgotten for more than a century in the archives of Barclay’s Bank and it is the only uncensored major Carroll document known to have survived. It runs unbroken from 1856, when Carroll was twenty-four, to 1900, two years after his death.
It shows that far from being rigidly controlled about his money, Carroll was sometimes laid back to the point of carelessness. Comfortably off - but by no means wealthy - he was closely involved with his huge extended family all his life, and treated them, and also his friends, with kindness and generosity.
He also supported dozens of charities. Most were medical, social or religious in nature, and, startlingly, they reveal that Carroll was both aware of and concerned about the sexual trafficking and exploitation of women and girls and the tragic results of it. At least one of the charities he supported actively tracked down and prosecuted men who sexually abused children. These donations were not made for show, but were entirely private.
The account shows that during the “missing period” of Carroll’s life (1858-62) he paid a very large amount of money to someone whom it has so far been impossible to identify in any records. All we know is that he or she had nothing to do with Christ Church, probably lived in Oxford but appeared not to have run a business in the town.
There is a great deal yet to be learned from the account. Any innocuous looking payment may, when investigated, signal a connection or event which will change our ideas about Carroll even further, so it is to be hoped that others will continue with this research.
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