Sir – I am responding to Don Chapman’s letter last week about the roots of croquet.

He labelled Lewis Carroll as the Rev Charles Dodgson; that is incorrect, as Dodgson only became a deacon and opted not to make the jump to the priesthood, though his father was an Anglican priest.

Most Carroll biographies state that his stammering kept him from taking the next step to the priesthood. As an author of children’s books, his pen gave him the total fluency he lacked in his real life.

Carroll’s parents were two first cousins who married; nine of their 11 children stammered past childhood.

The website of the Stuttering Foundation (stammeringhelp.org) has a biographical article on the author and his stammering.

The website of this non-profit charity offers many free resources to those of all ages who stammer.

Laura Palmer, Houston, Texas, US