Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
On the 4th of July 1862, Lewis Carroll rowed a boat up the River Isis with three young girls. The journey began at Folly Bridge in Oxford and ended upstream at Godstow. Carroll told the children a story he called Alice's Adventures Under Ground during this trip. Alice Pleasance Liddell asked him to write it down because she wanted to keep the tale forever. He promised to create a manuscript for her more than two years later. The weather on that day was actually cool and rather wet despite the poem calling it golden. Scholars still debate whether the story emerged instantly or developed over time.
Carroll started writing the story the next day after the river trip but lost that earliest version. He worked on the manuscript in earnest starting in November 1863. By the 26th of November 1864, he gave Alice the handwritten copy titled Alice's Adventures Under Ground as a Christmas gift. This original manuscript contained thirty-seven illustrations drawn by Carroll himself. Macmillan published a facsimile of this unique document in 1886. The final book became about twice the length of the private manuscript. It added new episodes like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party which did not exist in the early draft. The only known copy now resides in the British Library.
A young girl named Alice sits bored by a riverbank when she spots a White Rabbit with a pocket watch. She follows him down a rabbit hole into a safe landing inside a room with a table. A bottle labeled Drink me makes her shrink small enough to enter a tiny door beyond the table. She leaves the key upon the table and cannot reach it while swimming in a pool of her own tears. Another cake labeled Eat me causes her to grow to a tremendous size until she gets stuck in a house. Pebbles thrown at her turn into small cakes that make her shrink again. She meets a Caterpillar smoking a hookah on top of a mushroom who tells her how to change sizes. Her neck extends between treetops frightening a pigeon who mistakes her for a serpent before she shrinks to an appropriate height.
The Dodo character represents Lewis Carroll himself because he stuttered when speaking his real name Dodgson. Robinson Duckworth appears as the Duck in the Caucus Race chapter. Lorina Charlotte Liddell becomes the Lory while Edith Mary Liddell transforms into the Eaglet. The Hatter resembles Theophilus Carter an eccentric furniture dealer from Oxford. Bill the Lizard may be a play on British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's name. The Mock Turtle references art critic John Ruskin who taught drawing lessons once a week. The three little sisters Elsie Lacie and Tillie are actually the Liddell sisters with names rearranged or shortened. These figures show how Carroll turned people he knew into characters within his fantasy world.
Alice encounters a riddle asking why a raven is like a writing desk without a clear answer. The Hatter claims it might mean a raven eats worms while a writing desk is worm-eaten. Alice recites Latin declensions incorrectly leaving out the sixth case which creates a pun on her father's work. She drinks from bottles that change her size to fit through doors or escape houses. The Mad Hatter explains that time stands still at 6 p.m. tea time as punishment for killing it. Characters pose paradoxes that never resolve during the endless tea party. Mathematical concepts appear throughout the narrative as satire on mid-19th century mathematics. Words have insecure edges where nonsense blurs the sharp focus of terms for new readers.
John Tenniel provided forty-two wood-engraved illustrations for the published version released in November 1865. He was already famous as the chief cartoonist for Punch magazine before accepting the commission. Carroll financed the initial print run himself to maintain editorial authority over the project. The first edition contained two thousand copies but Tenniel objected to their printing quality. Carroll instructed Macmillan to halt publication and reprint them using Richard Clay as an alternative printer. The reprint cost six hundred pounds paid entirely by Carroll who received the first copy on the 9th of November 1865. Only twenty-two known first edition copies exist today because most were destroyed or sold in the US. Harry Theaker later colored sixteen plates in 1911 making Alice wear a blue dress that remains popular in the public mind.
The book has been translated into one hundred seventy-four languages since its original release. A British silent film titled Alice in Wonderland appeared in 1903 as the first screen adaptation. Queen Victoria read the story and asked for Carroll's next book which turned out to be a mathematical treatise instead. Oscar Wilde was also a fan of the work during his lifetime. The copyright expired in the UK in 1907 allowing new illustrated versions to emerge rapidly. A musical play premiered at London's Prince of Wales Theatre in 1886 with twelve-year-old Phoebe Carlo playing Alice. Tom Waits released songs from a 1992 production as an album called Alice in 2002. The Royal Mint issued a five-pound coin featuring Alice and the Cheshire Cat in 2021 to mark the anniversary.
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Common questions
When did Lewis Carroll first tell the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to the Liddell girls?
Lewis Carroll told the story on the 4th of July 1862 during a boat trip up the River Isis. The journey started at Folly Bridge in Oxford and ended upstream at Godstow.
What was the original title of the manuscript before it became Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?
The original handwritten copy was titled Alice's Adventures Under Ground when given as a Christmas gift on the 26th of November 1864. This private manuscript contained thirty-seven illustrations drawn by Carroll himself.
Who provided the famous wood-engraved illustrations for the published version released in November 1865?
John Tenniel provided forty-two wood-engraved illustrations for the book published in November 1865. He was already known as the chief cartoonist for Punch magazine before accepting this commission.
Which real people inspired specific characters like the Dodo and the Hatter in the novel?
The Dodo character represents Lewis Carroll because he stuttered his name Dodgson while speaking. The Hatter resembles Theophilus Carter an eccentric furniture dealer from Oxford.
How many languages has Alice's Adventures in Wonderland been translated into since its release?
The book has been translated into one hundred seventy-four languages since its original publication. A British silent film adaptation appeared in 1903 as the first screen version.