Tangled Tale

Author(s)

• Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll is best known for 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. It is less widely known that he worked as a lecturer for mathematics at Christ Church college, Oxford for 27 years. 'A tangled tale' merges his two talents as storyteller and mathematician. It consists of 10 short humorous stories which present one or more mathematical problems. The 10 'knots' as they are called, were first published in 'The Monthly Packet' magazine between April 1880 and March 1885, where readers were invited to solve the problems, and the solution was discussed in a later issue. (Summary by Availle)

1. Preface. Knot I Excelsior
2. Knot II Eligible Apartments
3. Knot III Mad Mathesis
4. Knot IV The Dead Reckoning
5. Knot V Oughts and Crosses
6. Knot VI Her Radiancy
7. Knot VII Petty Cash
8. Knot VIII De Omnibus Rebus
9. Knot IX A Serpent with Corners
10. Knot X Chelsea Buns
11. Answers to Knot I
12. Answers to Knot II
13. Answers to Knot III
14. Answers to Knot IV
15. Answers to Knot V
16. Answers to Knot VI
17. Answers to Knot VII
18. Answers to Knot VIII
19. Answers to Knot IX
20. Answers to Knot X