Homepage and Curriculum Vitae

Current Position

Retired from professional work apart from occasional “pro bono” consultancy jobs.
Currently working on a number of research projects and supporting various arts and humanities organisations.

Developing Lewis Carroll Resources website.

Over a period of nearly half a century, I have given numerous talks and organised many events relating to the life and work of Lewis Carroll. I frequently work with members of the academic world in a range of capacities and am often asked to review scholarly papers and book proposals.

In addition to working on Lewis Carroll, much of my time is spent supporting scholarship in a range of other fields, particularly the history of book illustration.

 

Honorary Positions (cultural organisations)

The Institute of Snarkology (https://snarkology.net)

Editorial Board Member, The Snarkologist: 2021-

Secretary: 2019-

Gryphon Educational Trust (https://gryphoneducationaltrust.org)

Trustee, Bursar: 2017-

Imaginative Book Illustration Society (https://bookillustration.org)

Editorial Board Member (IBIS Journal): 2010-

Treasurer: 2006-

Committee Member: 2005-2022

 

Honorary Positions (cultural organisations) - Past

British Association for Victorian Studies

Executive Committee, Ordinary Member: 2014-2018

Alice's Day Panel (Oxford)

Panel Member: 2006-2014

The Lewis Carroll Society
(Registered charity no. 266239, as distinct from the current incarnation of the Society, charity no. 1187658.)

Various posts from 1981 to 2017, including:
Editor, The Carrollian: 2002-2017
Chairman: 1986-1989, 1998-2001, 2002-2013
Treasurer: 1994-1998
Secretary: 1982-1985
Committee Member, Trustee: 1981-1985, 1986-1989, 1995-2001, 2002-2013

 

Employment (excludes various honorary directorships and part-time consultancy roles)

Aztec Consulting Ltd (1991-2017)

Director, Consultant
IT systems design and project management for forecasting, budgeting, commercial analysis and profitability systems: clients included Colgate-Palmolive, McVities, Standard Chartered Bank, Coca Cola, Johnson and Johnson, British Telecom.
Internet based administration tools design and implementation and web-hosting support: numerous arts related companies and organisations.

Metaphor Computer Systems (1989-1991)

Consultant
Systems design, implementation and project management mostly in "Fast Moving Consumer Goods" companies, banking and pharmaceutical sectors

Colgate-Palmolive (1984-1989)

Analyst/Programmer, Systems Analyst, Information Consultant

Thorn EMI (Westmount Computer Services) (1981-1984)

Computer Programmer

 

Education

University of Bristol (1978-1981)

Honours Degree in Pure Mathematics.

St Albans Grammar School for Boys (1970-1977)

Lectures, Talks, Walks, etc. given by Mark Richards

On Matters Pertaining to Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

More Than Just “an Obscure Writer on Logic”: George Englebretsen’s critical insights into Charles Dodgson’s contributions to the field of logic

Interview and discussion with Professor George Englebretsen, 22 April 2022

Since the early 1970s Professor Englebretsen (Bishop’s University, Québec) has published a number of notes, essays and reviews, exploring aspects of Lewis Carroll’s work on logic. In commemoration of the recent re-publication of these important pieces (Carrollian Notes, 2021) George Englebretsen discusses his work with Mark Richards, offering some critical insights into Dodgson’s contribution to this field of study. This conversation serves as both an introduction to Dodgson’s work as well as an opportunity to explore what makes it unique.

Watch the Recording on the LCSNA YouTube channel.

'Lewis Carroll’s Alice and the Brotherhood of Ruralists'

St Mary's, Primrose Hill.

Talk to accompany the "At One with Nature" exhibition, 19 August 2021.

'Reflection, Recursion and Self-Reference: Mathematics, Surrealism and the Mind of Lewis Carroll'

The Lewis Carroll Society of North America

Spring Meeting (online), 23-24 April 2021. This presentation was on day two.

“Outrageously Witty” (someone who clearly knows what they are talking about).

Watch the Recording on the LCSNA YouTube channel

'A Tale Untangled'

The Lewis Carroll Society of Daresbury, 11 May 2019

'“Till Tears Ran”, An Introduction'

Lewis Carroll and George MacDonald: An Influential Friendship, a one-day symposium
University of Chichester
1 September 2018

'The Enduring Appeal of Alice'

Blue Ginger Gallery, near Malvern
21 October 2017

'A Dodgson Mathematical Bibliography'

The Mathematical World of C L Dodgson conference at Oxford University Mathematical Institute
29 May 2017

'Ah, well! They may write such things in a book'

Lewis Carroll: Logic and Philosophy conference at School of Advanced Studies (Institute of Philosophy), University of London
26 May 2017

'Alice in Wonderland: Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll'

The Last Tuesday Society, Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, London
9 November 2015

'Le Gigot, sa vie et son œvres'

(The Leg of Lamb, its life and works: Lewis Carroll as Surrealist Lodestar)

Alice Through the Ages (Wonderland Week) conference
Homerton College, Cambridge
17 September 2015

'Lewis Carroll the Surrealist: exploring the Wonderland of the Unconscious Mind'

Talk given in association with an exhibition by British surrealist legend, Desmond Morris.
O3 Gallery, Oxford
11 July 2015

'Alice's Journey from Spoken Story to Gallery Wall'

Talk to accompany the exhibition, 'Artists in Wonderland', by a collection of contemporary artists.
Espacio Gallery, London
11 June 2015

'Curiosa Vestimenta: Alice Goes off the Rails'

A look at some of the more bizarre ways in which Lewis Carroll’s Alice can be linked with the world of fashion.
Alice and Fashion conference, V&A Museum of Childhood, London
9 May 2015

'Alice's Adventures Through the Ages'

Visualisations of Alice from Victorian dream-child to 21st Century cyber-punk
Guest presentation at the Oxford Prep Experience
Oriel College, Oxford
12 July 2014

'Looking Ahead to 2015'

Panel discussion on how the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Alice might be marked in 2015

Chaired by Mari Prichard with Tish Francis, Franziska Kohlt and Sarah Stanfield
Alice's Day
The Story Museum, Oxford
5 July 2014

'Alice's Journey Through the Ages'

149 years of portraying Alice from Victorian dream-child to 21st Century cyber-punk
Alice's Day
The Story Museum, Oxford
5 July 2014

'Lewis Carroll and Surrealism'

Arts and Humanities Discussion Group
St Anne's College, Oxford
29 May 2014

'Curiouser and Curiouser', parts 1 and 2

Contributions to Cindy Bisaillon's two part radio broadcast on Lewis Carroll
CDC Radio, 'Ideas'
28 & 29 April 2014

'Carroll, Yonge and Tangled Tales in The Monthly Packet'

Charles, Charlotte and the Camera Conference
The Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship and The Lewis Carroll Society
WOCC, Oxford
26 April 2014

'Why do we still love Alice'

Panel Discussion with Ella Parry-Davies
The Lewis Carroll Society
Art Workers' Guild, London
15 November 2013

'Inspired by Alice: the enduring appeal of Lewis Carroll's dream-child'

Dimbola Museum and Galleries, Freshwater, Isle of Wight
6 September 2013

'Portraying the Absurd'

Alice's Day
The Old Fire Station, Oxford
6 July 2013

'Charles Dodgson's Methods for Solving Sorites Problems'

British Society for the History of Mathematics and The Lewis Carroll Society Conference: Lewis Carroll's Mathematics
Birmingham and Midland Institute, Birmingham
18 May 2013

'Lewis Carroll and Surrealism'

Lewis Carroll Society of North America Meeting
Summit School, Winston-Salem, U.S.A.
20 April 2013

'Alice Illustrated: From Tenniel to the new Golden Age of Illustration'

Opening of 'Tea with Alice' Exhibition

Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal
31 October 2012

'Lewis Carroll - Mathematics: Work for God'

British Society for the History of Mathematics and Oxford University Department for Continuing Edication Conference: Mathematicians and Their Gods
Rewley House, Oxford
16 September 2012

'Alice Illustrated: From Tenniel to the new Golden Age of Illustration'

The Story Museum, Oxford
25 July 2012

'The Art of Alice: from Early Illustration to Contemporary Wonderlands'

O3 Gallery, Oxford
18 July 2012

'Alice After Lewis Carroll: Exploring the Further Adventures of Alice'

Study Day: 'Introducing Lewis Carroll'
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
26 May 2012

'A Tale Untangled'

Lewis Carroll Society of North America Meeting
Houghton Library, Harvard University, U.S.A.
28 April 2012

'Dodgson and Darwin'

Lewis Carroll Man of Science Conference
London School of Economics
17 August 2011

Click Here to read a draft version of this presentation

'The Legacy of Lewis Carroll'

Lewis Carroll Society Guildford Study Visit
Surrey History Centre, Woking
17 July 2010

'Drummond, Percy, Portal and Albury'

Lewis Carroll Society Guildford Study Visit
University of Surrey, Guildford
16 July 2010

'Lewis Carroll and Surrealism'

Alice's Day
University Museum of Natural History, Oxford
10 July 2010

'Darwin and Dodgson'

Alice's Day
University Museum of Natural History, Oxford
4 July 2009

'The Hunting of the Snark'

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting
University College, London
10 November 2006

'George MacDonald and Charles Dodgson'

Lewis Carroll Society, South Coast Study Tour
Hastings, Sussex, England
19 August 2005

'"For I have friends who dwell by the coast"
The friendship between George MacDonald and Charles Dodgson'

George MacDonald Society Meeting
Hastings, Sussex, England
14 May 2005

'Lewis Carroll and the Brotherhood of Ruralists'

Events programme at exhibtion opening
Museum of Modern Art, Wales (Macchynlleth)
September 2003

'A Tale Untangled'

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting
Birkbeck College, London
24 March 2000

'Through the Looking-Glass'

Lewis Carroll Conference
Tel Aviv, Israel
June 1999

'Lewis Carroll as Letter-Writer'

Lewis Carroll Conference
Tel Aviv, Israel
June 1999

'Sylvie and Bruno: its value as literature and as a vehicle for Carroll's ideas about life'

Lewis Carroll Society, OUDCE and Christ Church Conference:
Lewis Carroll Centenary Programme
Christ Church, Oxford
21 August 1998

'"An Animal That Writes Letters"'

Lewis Carroll Society , OUDCE and Christ Church Conference:
Lewis Carroll Centenary Programme
Christ Church, Oxford
20 August 1998

Chair at 'Recent Developments in Carroll Studies'

Lewis Carroll Society Panel Discussion with Anne Clark Amor, Karoline Leach and Edward Wakeling
Birkbeck College, London
30 June 1997

Chair at 'Lewis Carroll: The First International Conference'

Organised by The Lewis Carroll Society
Christ Church, Oxford

27 to 30 July 1989

'Lewis Carroll and his Contemporary Poets'

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting, with Brian Sibley and readings by Veronica Hickie
County Hall, London
12 February 1988

'Even Curiouser: a further collection of Carrollian bits and pieces'

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting, with contribitions from other members
County Hall, London
20 November 1987

'Curiouser and Curiouser: a collection of Carrollian bits and pieces'

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting, with contribitions from other members
County Hall, London
14 November 1986

'Lewis Carroll and Kensington Gardens' (Guided Walk)

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting
Kensington Gardens, London
23 August 1986

'Lewis Carroll's Logic'

The Alice Society
Oxford
26 May 1986

Berlin: A Carrollian Travelogue

Joint presentation with Catherine Richards
Lewis Carroll Society Meeting
County Hall, London
15 November 1985

'Lewis Carroll's Method of Barred Groups'

Lewis Carroll Society Meeting: 'Again and again gives a gain'
County Hall, London
19 October 1984

Debate: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a book more to be admired than Through the Looking-Glass

Seconding the opposition proposed by Edward Wakeling
Lewis Carroll Society Meeting
County Hall, London
10 September 1982

 

 

Presentations on Business Information Technology by Mark Richards

Topics include:

Relational database design for commercial analysis applications;

The implementation of "executive information systems";

The use of "information" bases in conjunction with "data" bases.

‘The Analytical Environment’ presentation and training course on developing analytical skills within businesses which match evolving technologies.

 

 

Articles, Reviews and Publications by Mark Richards

(does not include pseudonymous pieces)

Articles

'Arcane Illustrators: Frédéric Delanglade'

Knight Letter 104, Spring 2020

'Untangling the Tale of Hugh, Lambert and Balbus'

Knight Letter 103, Fall 2019

'Ship of Fools - Gallery of Innocents'
Introduction to The Hunting of the Snark

Published by The Cheshire Cat Press, Toronto, 2019.

'Hellmuth Weissenborn, A Bibliography'

In Studies in Illustration, Spring 2019. Published by the Imaginative Book Illustration Society

'Mathematical Bibliography'

In The Mathematical World of Charles L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

Edited by Robin Wilson and Amirouche Moktefi

O.U.P., 2019

'From Oulipo-Surrealism to Carrollian-Sewellism'

Preface to Celia Ventures Underground by Nathan Sewell

Wonder Type, 2017

'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Sesquicentennial Events'

Published in The Newsletter of the Children's Books History Society

Issue 113, December 2015

'Charles Dodgson's Work for God'

Mathematicians and their Gods

Oxford University Press, 2015

"I have [read the chapter by Mark Richards] and would congratulate him on a thoroughly readable account of Charles Dodgson's progress through life, and why." (Church of England lay preacher).

“Bravo – it is an excellent paper. I have no doubt it will do a lot of good. All future biographers should be required to read it. Your argument is well reasoned (of course).” (Carroll scholar and author of numerous books)

“I have just been enjoying reading your contribution to this book … Excellent! I agree with every word. A very able summary … and your choice of CLD letters etc. absolutely spot on. And such a well considered view of CLD’s mathematics, a much needed corrective to a lot of the adverse criticism we have had to put up with concerning his maths.” (Carroll scholar and author of numerous books)

"... a splendid piece of scholarship and very informative." (Editor of a major work on Carroll)

"Conveys very well the urgent need for people to consider the other things Carroll did, to actually make sense of him and his thought" (PhD candidate, Oxford)

'The Roles of Clubs and Societies'

Published in Studies in Illustration, No. 50, Spring 2011

'Lewis Carroll at Albury'

Published in Albury Parish News

Albury PCC, June 2010

'Found in Translation'

Published in Illustration, 17

Illustration Magazine, Autumn 2008

'J.C. Atkinson and C.L. Dodgson. Three Instances of Congruity'

Published in Jolly as a Snow-Boy. The Life and Works of J.C. Atkinson

Aznet Publishing, July 2003

'Dodgson's Methods of Solving Sorites Problems'

Published in The Carrollian, No. 6

The Lewis Carroll Society, Autumn 2000

'Lewis Carroll and John Colson:
There must be some connection!'

Published in Colson News , Vol 4, No. 2

1989. Lewis Carroll Special Edition

'Number Names'

Published in Colson News , Vol 2, No. 4

1985. Article about two-way numbering with references to Lewis Carroll

Editorships and Editorials

Editor

Roger Lancelyn Green, Teller of Tales

Booklet by Selwyn Goodace and Brian Sibley

Aznet Publishing, 2018

A limited number of complimentary copies are available via http://lewiscarrollresources.net

Editorship

Guest Co-editor: The Carrollian, No. 30

Editor: The Carrollian, Nos. 12 to 27, 29

Co-editor: The Carrollian, Nos. 6 to 11

Editorial Articles

Published in The Carrollian, No. 7, 9 to 27, 29 and 30

The Lewis Carroll Society, Spring 2001 to 2017

Published in Studies in Illustration, Nos. 36, 50, 52, 56, 60, 64

Imaginative Book Illustration Society, 2007 to 2017

Published in Jabberwocky, Vol 20, No. 1/2

The Lewis Carroll Society, Winter/Spring 1991

Reviews

[Review] Illustrating Carroll and Joyce by John Vernon Lord, The House of Illustration, 2018

Published in Lewis Carroll Review, 57

The Lewis Carroll Society, July 2019

[Review] ‘Photography Extraordinary: Changing the focus on Lewis Carroll’
Review of Lewis Carroll, Photography on the Move by Lindsay Smith

Published in Journal for Victorian Studies, 2017
Click Here to read online (access may be limited)

[Review] Alice in Manhattan, Photographs by Dan Hirshon
and Two Alice Statues in Central Park by G A Mudge

Published in Knight Letter, 96, Spring 2016

[Review] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: 150th Anniversary Edition, Illustrated by Salvador Dalí

Published in Knight Letter, 95, Fall 2015
Click Here to read online (at the Internet Archive)

[Review] Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, A Publishing History
by Zoe Jaques and Eugene Giddens

Published in Publishing History, 74, 2013 (published 2015)

[Review] Other Worlds and Imaginary Beings
by Hector McDonnell and Cristina Neagu

Published in Lewis Carroll Review, 51

The Lewis Carroll Society, June 2014

[Review] 'Tea with Alice' Exhibition
(Story Museum, Oxford and Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon)'

Published in Bandersnatch, No. 157

The Lewis Carroll Society, December 2012

[Review] The Artist and the Poet: Leonard Baskin and
Ted Hughes in Conversation (by Noel Chanon, 1983)

Published in Studies in Illustration, No. 50

Imaginative Book Illustration Society, Spring 2012

[Review] Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark

Published in Lewis Carroll Review

The Lewis Carroll Society, September 2011

[Review] Alice Through the Looking-Glass
Illustrated by Peter Blake

Published in Lewis Carroll Review, 34

The Lewis Carroll Society, July 2006

[Review] The German Alice: a Bibliography of ‘Alice im Wunderland’
by Pasturny and Wagner

Published in Lewis Carroll Review, 32

The Lewis Carroll Society, February 2006

[Review] Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing
by Lewis Carroll (Levenger Editon)

Published in Lewis Carroll Review, 17

The Lewis Carroll Society, April 2000

[Review] The Tale of the Mouse's Tail
by David and Maxine Schaefer

Published in Lewis Carroll Review, 2

The Lewis Carroll Society, June 1996

Published Letters

[Letter to the Editor] Gender of the Beaver in 'The Hunting of the Snark'

Published in Jabberwocky, Vol 14, No. 2

The Lewis Carroll Society, Spring 1985

[Letter to the Editor] Correction to an article on Lewis Carroll's mathematics

Published in Jabberwocky, Vol 9, No. 1

The Lewis Carroll Society, Winter 1979/80

Conferences, Courses, Tours and Events Organised by Mark Richards

'There's Something About Alice'

Production Coordinator, UK
Premiered 2022. Produced by Andy Malcolm, Directed by Wendy Rowland, Cinematography by Robin Bain.

'Lewis Carroll and George MacDonald: An Influential Friendship'

One day conference at the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy
University of Chichester
1 September 2018
Assisting and advising the organiser, Heather Robbins

'Alice and Fashion'

One day conference on Alice as follower of fashion and trendsetter, organised to coincide with 'The Alice Look' exhibition at the V&A Museum of Childhood.
V&A Museum of Childhood , London
9 May 2015
Jointly organised with Kiera Vaclavik

'Charles, Charlotte and the Camera'

The Charlotte M Yonge Fellowship and The Lewis Carroll Society Conference
WOCC, Oxford
26 April 2014
Jointly organised with Clemence Schultze and Margaret Birch

'Lewis Carroll's Mathematics'

The Lewis Carroll Society and The British Society for the History of Mathematics Conference
Bimingham and Midland Institute, Birmingham
2013
Jointly organised with Robin Wilson

Alice's Adventures 150th Anniversary Events

Anniversary River Trip, Guided Walks, Flotilla
The Lewis Carroll Society and City Barge
4 to 7 July 2012
Flotilla jointly organised with Mike Wilson
River Trip jointly organised with Mark Davies and Catherine Richards

'Introducing Lewis Carroll'

A V&A Study Day
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
2012
Jointly organised with Mary Le Comte

'Lewis Carroll Man of Science'

Lewis Carroll Society and The British Society for the History of Mathematics
London School of Economics, London
2011
Jointly organised with Amirouche Moktefi, Ivor Grattan-Guinness and Catherine Richards

Guildford Study Visit

The Lewis Carroll Society
Guildford, Albury, Woking
2010
Jointly organised with Catherine Richards

Lewis Carroll, Photographer

The Lewis Carroll Society and Julia Margaret Cameron Trust
Freshwater, Isle of Wight, England
28 to 30 September 2007
Jointly organised with Colin Ford, Catherine Richards and John Holsburt

South Coast Study Tour

The Lewis Carroll Society
Eastbourne, Hastings, Brighton
18 to 22 August 2005
Jointly organised with Catherine Richards

Visit to Daresbury

The Lewis Carroll Society
Daresbury, Cheshire, England
28 to 30 June 2002
Jointly organised with Keith Wright

Visit to Freshwater, Isle of Wight

The Lewis Carroll Society
Isle of Wight, England
15 to 17 June 2001
Jointly organised with Catherine Richards

Visit to Ripon

The Lewis Carroll Society
Ripon, Yorkshire, England
4 to 6 August 2000
Jointly organised with Maurice Taylor and Catherine Richards

Visit to Llandudno

The Lewis Carroll Society
18 to 20 June 1999
Jointly organised with Ivor Wynne Jones, Alan White and Catherine Richards

Lewis Carroll Centenary Programme

The Lewis Carroll Society, OUDCE and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
16 to 22 August 1998
Jointly organised with Edward Wakeling, Anne Clark Amor, Catherine Richards and John Harris

Visit to Paris

Paris, France
3 to 6 July 1997
Jointly organsed with Hugues Lebailly, Anne Clark Amor and Catherine Richards

Visit to Guildford

The Lewis Carroll Society
Guildford, Surrey, England
2 to 4 August 1996
Jointly organised with Catherine Richards

Visit to Lyndhurst

The Lewis Carroll Society
Lyndhurst, Hampshire, England
30 June to 2 July 1995
Jointly organised with Anne Clark Amor, Alan White and Catherine Richards

Lewis Carroll: The First International Conference

The Lewis Carroll Society
Christ Church, Oxford, England
27 to 30 July 1989
Jointly organised with Catherine Richards

Alice's Adventures 125th Anniversary River Trip

The Lewis Carroll Society
Oxford, England
4 July 1987

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Books for Sale

I have a selection of books and ephemera relating to Lewis Carroll in my online shop: Click Here.

You may shop as a "guest", but if you are a student or someone who knows me, I would recommend that you contact me to obtain an Access Code.

…

I also have the following books available. Contact me if you are interested.
Condition of these is not always great, so I am not looking for a high price and would rather they went to a genuine collector.

Euclid and His Modern Rivals, First Edition, 1879 (Good conidition, but inscriptions on front endpapers, a little foxing )

Doublets, Second Edition, 1880 (Stains on front cover, inscription and a few marks inside)

Doublets, Third Edition, 1880 (Stains on front cover, bit of foxing here and there)

New Theory of Parallels, Fourth Edition, 1895 (Poor copy, marked cover, binding falling apart, etc)

AAIW illustrated by Willy Pogany, Dutton, 1929, First Edition (Cover has some fraying and stains, the dustwrapper is missing)

The Game of Logic, First published edition, 1887 (Spine cracked and loose, some internal pages, loose)