[Graham King]

Hi,

Ah, that recurring distasteful theme...

I hope you ES gentlemen and ladies will indulge me writing a little in defence of the repute of one of my favourite authors.

It's easy to slur deceased CL Dodgson... on ill-founded grounds. Easily-found up-to-date references, such as The Victorian Web and Wikipedia entries on him (and scholarly works to which they refer), help explode the 'Carroll' myth.
These sources cover key points such as the fact that he was by no means emotionally-engaged primarily with little girls, but had many friendships with adult women throughout his life; and that depiction of unclothed children in various forms of art was a fairly mainstream Victorian aesthetic, and innocuously so, not a sinister predilection peculiar to Dodgson.

I think re child welfare Dodgson has no case to answer (and of course currently can't answer- though others might speak up on his behalf); but rather it seems to me that his detractors have their case against him still to make (if they can).

That's my opinion, for what it may be worth!
Perhaps the best indication of the soundness of his character lies in the quality of his work.