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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, commonly known as Alice in Wonderland, is an endearing and enduring classic children’s literature. It was written by English author Lewis Carroll in 1865. The author’s real name was actually Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, Lewis Carroll being his pseudonym. Let’s look at Alice in Wonderland in greater detail.

The Author - Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898) was not only one of the world’s most celebrated authors but also a mathematician, logician, and photographer. His most famous works are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Jabberwocky, and The Hunting of the Snark. Born near Warrington, he was the eldest son in the family. He started writing from a very young age. Dodgson’s last novel was Sylvie and Bruno which was a two-volume novel published in 1889 and 1893. On January 14th 1898, he passed away at his sister’s home.

  • Lewis Carroll: Resource center with biography, works, political history, religion, science, imagery, and more.
  • Lewis Carroll Puzzles: Try these puzzles to understand more about Lewis Carroll.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a novel which tells the story of a girl named Alice and her experience in the dream world. The story starts with Alice following a rabbit and falling into a rabbit hole which she thought to be a never ending hole. When she finally reached the bottom, she found herself in a room and a bottle with a label reading “drink me” on it. The rest of the novel follows Alice’s adventures as she meets interesting characters like the Hatter, Cheshire Cat, hookah-smoking Caterpillar, March Hare, the Queen of Hearts, and more. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is considered a landmark in children’s literature.

mad hatterThrough the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

The sequel of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Written in 1871 by Lewis Carroll, it also belonged to the literary nonsense genre. The setting is similar to that of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but unlike the first story, which started in the hot month of May, the story starts exactly six months later in the cold wintry season of November. In Through the Looking-Glass, Alice enters an alternate world by stepping through a mirror hanging on the wall behind the fireplace. Sir John Tenniel provided 50 illustrations for Through the Looking-Glass.

Stage, Film, and Television

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have been adapted in countless stage, film, and television productions. As early as 1886, H. Saville Clark produced a stage musical of Alice in Wonderland in London. There are many other stage adaptations produced all across the world. The first film was Alice in Wonderland in 1903 by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow. It was a silent film. In 1931, “the first articulated Alice” directed by Bud Pollard was released. Walt Disney produced the colorful animated feature Alice in Wonderland in 1951 and Tim Burton’s 3D extravaganza in 2010. The first television adaptation of Alice in Wonderland was produced by BBC in 1937. It was directed by George More O'Ferrall and starred Ursula Hanray in the title role.

Poems and Songs

Both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have poems and songs. “All in the Golden Afternoon”, “The Mouse’s Tale”, and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat” were written by Carroll for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. For Through the Looking Glass, he wrote “Jabberwocky”, “The Lion and the Unicorn”, “A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky”, and more. These poems and songs added beauty to the novels, making them all the more interesting and fun.

Illustrations

In an 1887 facsimile edition, Dodgson provided 37 illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. For the published version, there were 42 wood engraved illustrations provided by Sir John Tenniel. The quality of the first print run of 2,000 copies was not good enough so Tenniel requested them to be destroyed. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There has fifty illustrations by John Tenniel.

Miscellaneous Facts and Resources

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is about the fantasy worlds dreamed up by Alice but there are references to real people and places. Lewis Carroll also worked in the field of geometry, and algebra, writing many books under his real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. At one time, he worked at Oxford as a mathematics tutor. One of his last great books was the nonsense poem called “The Hunting of the Snark”. Carroll was also groomed in the Anglican Church ministry. Though his diaries were famous, seven pages are missing, which is still unexplained. The inspiration for Alice in Wonderland was a 10-year old by the name of Alice Liddell.