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''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English
children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
by
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
, a mathematics don at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
. It details the story of a girl named
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
creatures. It is seen as an example of the
literary nonsense Literary nonsense (or nonsense literature) is a broad categorization of literature that balances elements that make sense with some that do not, with the effect of subverting language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well-k ...
genre. The artist
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
provided 42 wood-engraved illustrations for the book. It received positive reviews upon release and is now one of the best-known works of
Victorian literature Victorian era, Victorian literature is English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). In the Victorian era, the novel became the leading literary genre in English. English writing from this era reflects the major transform ...
; its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have had a widespread influence on popular culture and literature, especially in the
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
genre. It is credited as helping end an era of
didacticism Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasises instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is a conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to explain. ...
in
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
, inaugurating an era in which writing for children aimed to "delight or entertain". The tale plays with
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. The titular character Alice shares her name with
Alice Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934) was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip becam ...
, a girl Carroll knew—scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her. The book has never been out of print and has been translated into 174 languages. Its legacy includes
adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
to screen, radio, visual art, ballet, opera, and musical theatre, as well as theme parks, board games and video games. Carroll published a sequel in 1871 entitled ''
Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...
'' and a shortened version for young children, '' The Nursery "Alice"'', in 1890.


Background


"All in the golden afternoon..."

''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' was conceived on 4 July 1862, when
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
and the Reverend
Robinson Duckworth Robinson Duckworth (4 December 1834 – 20 September 1911) was a British priest, who was present on the original boating expedition of 4 July 1862 during which Alice's adventures were first told by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). H ...
rowed up the river
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
with the three young daughters of Carroll's friend
Henry Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was Dean (college), dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is n ...
: Lorina Charlotte (aged 13; "Prima" in the book's prefatory verse); Alice Pleasance (aged 10; "Secunda" in the verse); and Edith Mary (aged 8; "Tertia" in the verse). The journey began at
Folly Bridge Folly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road south from the centre of Oxford, England. It was erected in 1825–27, to designs of a little-known architect, Ebenezer Perry (died 1850), who practised in London. ...
, Oxford, and ended upstream at
Godstow Godstow is a hamlet about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. ...
, Oxfordshire. During the trip, Carroll told the girls a story that he described in his diary as "Alice's Adventures Under Ground", which his journal says he "undertook to write out for Alice". Alice Liddell recalled that she asked Carroll to write it down: unlike other stories he had told her, this one she wanted to preserve. She finally received the manuscript more than two years later. 4 July was known as the " golden afternoon", prefaced in the novel as a poem. In fact, the weather around Oxford on 4 July was "cool and rather wet", although at least one scholar has disputed this claim. Scholars debate whether Carroll in fact came up with ''Alice'' during the "golden afternoon" or whether the story was developed over a longer period. Carroll had known the Liddell children since around March 1856, when he befriended Harry Liddell. He had met Lorina by early March as well. In June 1856, he took the children out on the river. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, who wrote a literary biography of Carroll, suggests that Carroll favoured Alice Pleasance Liddell in particular because her name was ripe for allusion. "Pleasance" means pleasure and the name "Alice" appeared in contemporary works, including the poem "Alice Gray" by William Mee, of which Carroll wrote a parody; Alice is a character in "Dream-Children: A Reverie", a prose piece by
Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...
. Carroll, an amateur photographer by the late 1850s, produced many photographic portraits of the Liddell children – and especially of Alice, of which 20 survive.


Manuscript: ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground''

Carroll began writing the
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
of the story the next day, although that earliest version is lost. The girls and Carroll took another boat trip a month later, when he elaborated the plot of the story to Alice, and in November, he began working on the manuscript in earnest. To add the finishing touches, he researched
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
in connection with the animals presented in the book and then had the book examined by other children—particularly those of George MacDonald. Though Carroll did add his own illustrations to the original copy, on publication he was advised to find a professional illustrator so that the pictures were more appealing to his audience. He subsequently approached
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
to reinterpret his visions through his own artistic eye, telling him that the story had been well-liked by the children. Carroll began planning a print edition of the ''Alice'' story in 1863. He wrote on 9 May 1863 that MacDonald's family had suggested he publish ''Alice''. A diary entry for 2 July says that he received a specimen page of the print edition around that date. On 26 November 1864, Carroll gave Alice the manuscript of ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground'', with illustrations by Carroll, dedicating it as "A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer's Day". The published version of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' is about twice the length of ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground'' and includes episodes, such as the Mad Hatter's Tea-Party (or Mad Tea Party), that do not appear in the manuscript. The only known manuscript copy of ''Under Ground'' is held in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
. Macmillan published a facsimile of the manuscript in 1886.


Plot

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
, a young girl, sits bored by a riverbank and spots a
White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dea ...
with a
pocket watch A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popula ...
and
waistcoat A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit) or vest ( US and Canada) is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wea ...
lamenting that he is late. Surprised, Alice follows him down a rabbit hole, which sends her into a lengthy plummet but to a safe landing. Inside a room with a table, she finds a key to a tiny door, beyond which is a garden. While pondering how to fit through the door, she discovers a bottle labelled "Drink me". Alice drinks some of the bottle's contents, and to her astonishment, she shrinks small enough to enter the door. However, she had left the key upon the table and cannot reach it. Alice then discovers and eats a cake labelled "Eat me", which causes her to grow to a tremendous size. Unhappy, Alice bursts into tears, and the passing White Rabbit flees in a panic, dropping a fan and two gloves. Alice uses the fan for herself, which causes her to shrink once more and leaves her swimming in a pool of her own tears. Within the pool, Alice meets various animals and birds, who convene on a bank and engage in a "Caucus Race" to dry themselves. Following the end of the race, Alice inadvertently frightens the animals away by discussing her cat. The White Rabbit appears looking for the gloves and fan. Mistaking Alice for his maidservant, he orders her to go to his house and retrieve them. Alice finds another bottle and drinks from it, which causes her to grow to such an extent that she gets stuck in the house. Attempting to extract her, the White Rabbit and his neighbours eventually take to hurling pebbles that turn into small cakes. Alice eats one and shrinks herself, allowing her to flee into the forest. She meets a
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
seated on a mushroom and smoking a
hookah A hookah (also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often ''muʽassel''), or sometimes Cannabis (drug ...
. During the Caterpillar's questioning, Alice begins to admit to her current identity crisis, compounded by her inability to remember a poem. Before crawling away, the Caterpillar says that a bite of one side of the mushroom will make her larger, while a bite from the other side will make her smaller. During a period of trial and error, Alice's neck extends between the treetops, frightening a pigeon who mistakes her for a serpent. After shrinking to an appropriate height, Alice arrives at the home of a
Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...
, who owns a perpetually grinning Cheshire Cat. The Duchess's baby, whom she hands to Alice, transforms into a piglet, which Alice releases into the woods. The Cheshire Cat appears to Alice and directs her toward the
Hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...
and
March Hare The March Hare (called Haigha in '' Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The main character, Alice, hypothesizes, : " ...
before disappearing, leaving his grin behind. Alice finds the Hatter, March Hare, and a sleepy
Dormouse A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...
in the midst of a tea party. The Hatter explains that it is always 6 p.m. ( tea time), claiming that time is standing still as punishment for the Hatter trying to "kill it". A conversation ensues around the table, and the riddle "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" is brought up. Alice impatiently decides to leave, calling the party stupid. Noticing a door on a tree, Alice passes through and finds herself back in the room from the beginning of her journey. She takes the key and uses it to open the door to the garden, which turns out to be the
croquet Croquet ( or ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called Wicket, "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Variations In all forms of croquet, in ...
court of the Queen of Hearts, whose guard consists of living playing cards. Alice participates in a croquet game, in which hedgehogs are used as balls, flamingos are used as mallets, and soldiers act as hoops. The Queen is short-tempered and constantly orders beheadings. When the Cheshire Cat appears as only a head, the Queen orders his beheading, only to be told that such an act is impossible. Because the cat belongs to the Duchess, Alice prompts the Queen to release the Duchess from prison to resolve the matter. When the Duchess ruminates on finding morals in everything around her, the Queen dismisses her on the threat of execution. Alice then meets a Gryphon and a Mock Turtle, who dance to the Lobster Quadrille while Alice recites (rather incorrectly) a poem. The Mock Turtle sings them "Beautiful Soup", during which the Gryphon drags Alice away for a trial, in which the Knave of Hearts stands accused of stealing the Queen's tarts. The trial is conducted by the King of Hearts, and the jury is composed of animals that Alice previously met. Alice gradually grows in size and confidence, allowing herself increasingly frequent remarks on the irrationality of the proceedings. The Queen eventually commands Alice's beheading, but Alice scoffs that the Queen's guard is only a pack of cards. Although Alice holds her own for a time, the guards soon gang up and start to swarm all over her. Alice's sister wakes her up from a dream, brushing what turns out to be leaves from Alice's face. Alice leaves her sister on the bank to imagine all the curious happenings for herself.


Characters

The main characters in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' are the following:


Character allusions

upright=1.1, Mad Tea Party.
The Hatter The Hatter (called Hatta in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is often referred to as The Mad Hatter ...
. In ''The Annotated Alice'', Martin Gardner provides background information for the characters. The members of the boating party that first heard Carroll's tale show up in chapter 3 ("A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale"). Alice Liddell is there, while Carroll is caricatured as the Dodo (Lewis Carroll was a
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson; because he stuttered when he spoke, he sometimes pronounced his last name as "Dodo-Dodgson"). The Duck refers to
Robinson Duckworth Robinson Duckworth (4 December 1834 – 20 September 1911) was a British priest, who was present on the original boating expedition of 4 July 1862 during which Alice's adventures were first told by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). H ...
, and the Lory and Eaglet to Alice Liddell's sisters Lorina and Edith. Bill the Lizard may be a play on the name of British Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
. One of Tenniel's illustrations in ''
Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...
''—the 1871 sequel to ''Alice''—depicts the character referred to as the "Man in White Paper" (whom Alice meets on a train) as a caricature of Disraeli, wearing a paper hat. The illustrations of the Lion and the Unicorn (also in ''Looking-Glass'') look like Tenniel's '' Punch'' illustrations of
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
and Disraeli, although Gardner says there is "no proof" that they were intended to represent these politicians. Gardner has suggested that the Hatter is a reference to
Theophilus Carter Theophilus Carter (1824 – 21 December 1904) was an Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric British furniture dealer who may have been an inspiration for the illustration by Sir John Tenniel of Lewis Carroll's characters the Mad Hatter in his 18 ...
, an Oxford furniture dealer, and that Tenniel apparently drew the Hatter to resemble Carter, on a suggestion of Carroll's. The Dormouse tells a story about three little sisters named Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie. These are the Liddell sisters: Elsie is L.C. (Lorina Charlotte); Tillie is Edith (her family nickname is Matilda); and Lacie is an
anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...
of Alice. The Mock Turtle speaks of a drawling-master, "an old
conger ''Conger'' ( ) is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of t ...
eel", who came once a week to teach "Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils". This is a reference to the art critic
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
, who came once a week to the Liddell house to teach the children to draw, sketch, and paint in oils. The Mock Turtle sings "Turtle Soup", which is a parody of a song called "Star of the Evening, Beautiful Star", which the Liddells sang for Carroll.


Poems and songs

Carroll wrote multiple poems and songs for ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', including: *" All in the golden afternoon..."—the prefatory verse to the book, an original poem by Carroll that recalls the rowing expedition on which he first told the story of Alice's adventures underground *" How Doth the Little Crocodile"—a parody of
Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey th ...
's nursery rhyme, " Against Idleness and Mischief" *" The Mouse's Tale"—an example of
concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...
*" You Are Old, Father William"—a parody of
Robert Southey Robert Southey (; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic poetry, Romantic school, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth an ...
's " The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them" *The Duchess's lullaby, "Speak roughly to your little boy..."—a parody of David Bates' "Speak Gently" *" Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat"—a parody of Jane Taylor's " Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" *" The Lobster Quadrille"—a parody of Mary Botham Howitt's " The Spider and the Fly" *" 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster"—a parody of
Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey th ...
's " The Sluggard" *"Beautiful Soup"—a parody of James M. Sayles's "Star of the Evening, Beautiful Star" *" The Queen of Hearts"—an actual nursery rhyme *"They told me you had been to her..."—White Rabbit's evidence


Writing style and themes


Symbolism

Carroll's biographer Morton N. Cohen reads ''Alice'' as a ''
roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...
'' populated with real figures from Carroll's life. Alice is based on Alice Liddell; the Dodo is Carroll; Wonderland is Oxford; even the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, according to Cohen, is a send-up of Alice's own birthday party. The critic Jan Susina rejects Cohen's account, arguing that Alice the character bears a tenuous relationship with Alice Liddell. Beyond its refashioning of Carroll's everyday life, Cohen argues, ''Alice'' critiques Victorian ideals of childhood. It is an account of "the child's plight in Victorian upper-class society", in which Alice's mistreatment by the creatures of Wonderland reflects Carroll's own mistreatment by older people as a child. In the eighth chapter, three cards are painting the roses on a rose tree red, because they had accidentally planted a white-rose tree that the Queen of Hearts hates. According to Wilfrid Scott-Giles, the rose motif in ''Alice'' alludes to the English
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
: red roses symbolised the
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...
, and white roses the rival
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
.


Language

''Alice'' is full of linguistic play, puns, and parodies. According to Gillian Beer, Carroll's play with language evokes the feeling of words for new readers: they "still have insecure edges and a nimbus of nonsense blurs the sharp focus of terms". The literary scholar Jessica Straley, in a work about the role of evolutionary theory in Victorian children's literature, argues that Carroll's focus on language prioritises humanism over
scientism Scientism is the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientis ...
by emphasising language's role in human self-conception. Pat's "Digging for apples" is a cross-language pun, as ''pomme de terre'' (literally; "apple of the earth") means potato and ''pomme'' means apple. In the second chapter, Alice initially addresses the mouse as "O Mouse", based on her memory of the noun
declension In linguistics, declension (verb: ''to decline'') is the changing of the form of a word, generally to express its syntactic function in the sentence by way of an inflection. Declension may apply to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and det ...
s "in her brother's
Latin Grammar Latin is a heavily inflected language with largely free word order. Nouns are inflected for number and case; pronouns and adjectives (including participles) are inflected for number, case, and gender; and verbs are inflected for person, numbe ...
, 'A mouse – of a mouse – to a mouse – a mouse – O mouse! These words correspond to the first five of Latin's six cases, in a traditional order established by medieval grammarians: ''mus'' (
nominative In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants of E ...
), ''muris'' (
genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
), ''muri'' (
dative In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this exampl ...
), ''murem'' (
accusative In grammar, the accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to receive the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: "me", "him", "her", " ...
), ''(O) mus'' (
vocative In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numeral ...
). The sixth case, ''mure'' (
ablative In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages. It is used to indicate motion away from something, make comparisons, and serve various o ...
) is absent from Alice's recitation. Nilson suggests that Alice's missing ablative is a pun on her father Henry Liddell's work on the standard ''
A Greek-English Lexicon A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
'', since ancient Greek does not have an ablative case. Further, mousa (μούσα, meaning
muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
) was a standard model noun in Greek textbooks of the time in paradigms of the first declension, short-alpha noun.


Mathematics

Mathematics and logic are central to ''Alice''. As Carroll was a mathematician at Christ Church, it has been suggested that there are many references and mathematical concepts in both this story and ''Through the Looking-Glass''. Literary scholar Melanie Bayley asserts in the ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...
'' magazine that Carroll wrote ''Alice in Wonderland'' in its final form as a satire on mid-19th century mathematics.


Eating and devouring

Carina Garland notes how the world is "expressed via representations of food and appetite", naming Alice's frequent desire for consumption (of both food and words), her 'Curious Appetites'. Often, the idea of eating coincides to make gruesome images. After the riddle "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?", the Hatter claims that Alice might as well say, "I see what I eat…I eat what I see" and so the riddle's solution, put forward by Boe Birns, could be that "A raven eats worms; a writing desk is worm-eaten"; this idea of food encapsulates idea of life feeding on life itself, for the worm is being eaten and then becomes the eater—a horrific image of mortality. Nina Auerbach discusses how the novel revolves around eating and drinking which "motivates much of her lice'sbehaviour", for the story is essentially about things "entering and leaving her mouth." The animals of Wonderland are of particular interest, for Alice's relation to them shifts constantly because, as Lovell-Smith states, Alice's changes in size continually reposition her in the food chain, serving as a way to make her acutely aware of the 'eat or be eaten' attitude that permeates Wonderland.


Nonsense

''Alice'' is an example of the
literary nonsense Literary nonsense (or nonsense literature) is a broad categorization of literature that balances elements that make sense with some that do not, with the effect of subverting language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well-k ...
genre. According to Humphrey Carpenter, ''Alice'' brand of nonsense embraces the
nihilistic Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that life is meaningless, that moral values are baseless, and that knowledge is impossible. Thes ...
and
existential Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...
. Characters in nonsensical episodes such as the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, in which it is always the same time, go on posing paradoxes that are never resolved.


Rules and games

Wonderland is a rule-bound world, but its rules are not those of our world. The literary scholar Daniel Bivona writes that ''Alice'' is characterised by "gamelike social structures." She trusts in instructions from the beginning, drinking from the bottle labelled "drink me" after recalling, during her descent, that children who do not follow the rules often meet terrible fates. Unlike the creatures of Wonderland, who approach their world's wonders uncritically, Alice continues to look for rules as the story progresses. Gillian Beer suggests that Alice looks for rules to soothe her anxiety, while Carroll may have hunted for rules because he struggled with the implications of the non-Euclidean geometry then in development.


Illustrations

The manuscript was illustrated by Carroll, who added 37 illustrations—printed in a facsimile edition in 1887. John Tenniel provided 42 Wood engraving, wood-engraved illustrations for the published version of the book. The first print run was destroyed (or sold in the US) at Carroll's request because Tenniel was dissatisfied with the printing quality. There are only 22 known first edition copies in existence. The book was reprinted and published in 1866. Tenniel's detailed black-and-white drawings remain the definitive depiction of the characters. Tenniel's illustrations of Alice do not portray the real Alice Liddell, who had dark hair and a short fringe. ''Alice'' has provided a challenge for other illustrators, including those of 1907 by Charles Pears and the full series of colour plates and line-drawings by Harry Rountree published in the (inter-War) Children's Press (Glasgow) edition. Other significant illustrators include: Arthur Rackham (1907), Willy Pogany (1929), Mervyn Peake (1946), Ralph Steadman (1967), Salvador Dalí (1969), Graham Ovenden, Graham Overden (1969), Max Ernst (1970), Peter Blake (artist), Peter Blake (1970), Tove Jansson (1977), Anthony Browne (author), Anthony Browne (1988), Helen Oxenbury (1999), and Lisbeth Zwerger (1999).


Publication history

Carroll first met Alexander MacMillan (publisher), Alexander Macmillan, a high-powered London publisher, on 19 October 1863. His firm, Macmillan Publishers, agreed to publish ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' by sometime in 1864. Carroll financed the initial print run, possibly because it gave him more editorial authority than other financing methods. He managed publication details such as typesetting and engaged illustrators and translators. Macmillan had published The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, ''The Water-Babies'', also a children's fantasy, in 1863, and suggested its design as a basis for ''Alice''. Carroll saw a specimen copy in May 1865. 2,000 copies were printed by July, but Tenniel objected to their quality, and Carroll instructed Macmillan to halt publication so they could be reprinted. In August, he engaged Richard Clay as an alternative printer for a new run of 2,000. The reprint cost £600, paid entirely by Carroll. He received the first copy of Clay's edition on 9 November 1865. Macmillan finally published the new edition, printed by Richard Clay, in November 1865. Carroll requested a red binding, deeming it appealing to young readers. A new edition, released in December 1865 for the Christmas market but carrying an 1866 date, was quickly printed. The text blocks of the original edition were removed from the binding and sold with Carroll's permission to the New York publishing house of D. Appleton & Company. The binding for the Appleton ''Alice'' was identical to the 1866 Macmillan ''Alice'', except for the publisher's name at the foot of the Bookbinding#Spine, spine. The title page of the Appleton ''Alice'' was an insert cancelling the original Macmillan title page of 1865 and bearing the New York publisher's imprint and the date 1866. The entire print run sold out quickly. ''Alice'' was a publishing sensation, beloved by children and adults alike. Oscar Wilde was a fan; Queen Victoria was also an avid reader of the book. She reportedly enjoyed ''Alice'' enough that she asked for Carroll's next book, which turned out to be a mathematical treatise; Carroll denied this. The book has never been out of print. ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' has been translated into 174 languages.


Publication timeline

The following list is a timeline of major publication events related to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'': *1869: Published in German as ''Alice's Abenteuer im Wunderland'', translated by Antonie Zimmermann. *1869: Published in French as ''Aventures d'Alice au pays des merveilles'', translated by Henri Bué. *1870: Published in Swedish as ''Alice's Äventyr i Sagolandet'', translated by Emily Nonnen. *1871: Carroll meets another Alice, Alice Raikes, during his time in London. He talks with her about her reflection in a mirror, leading to the sequel, ''Through the Looking-Glass, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'', which sells even better. *1872: Published in Italian as ''Le Avventure di Alice nel Paese delle Meraviglie'', translated by Teodorico Pietrocòla Rossetti. *1886: Carroll publishes a facsimile of the earlier ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground'' manuscript. *1890: Carroll publishes '' The Nursery "Alice"'', an abridged version, around Easter. *1905: Mrs J. C. Gorham publishes ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Retold in Words of One Syllable'' in a series of such books published by A. L. Burt Company, aimed at young readers. *1906: Published in Finnish as ''Liisan seikkailut ihmemaailmassa'', translated by Anni Swan. *1907: Copyright on ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' expires in the UK, entering the tale into the public domain,: "The public perception of ''Alice'' was ... intimately tied to the illustrations created by Tenniel, and it is therefore perhaps no great surprise that when copyright to ''Wonderland'' expired in 1907, the appearance of a plethora of new illustrated versions was received with some significant objection by English reviewers." Copyright_law_of_the_United_Kingdom#Historical_background, 42 years after its publication, some nine years after Carroll's death in January 1898. *1910: Published in Esperanto as ''La Aventuroj de Alicio en Mirlando,'' translated by E. L. Kearney. *1915: Alice Gerstenberg's stage adaptation premieres. *1928: The manuscript of ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground'' written and illustrated by Carroll, which he had given to Alice Liddell, was sold at Sotheby's in London on 3 April. It was sold to Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philip Rosenbach of Philadelphia for , a world record for the sale of a manuscript at the time; the buyer later presented it to the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
(where the manuscript remains) as an appreciation for Britain's part in two World Wars. *1960: American writer Martin Gardner publishes a special edition, ''The Annotated Alice''. *1988: Lewis Carroll and Anthony Browne (illustrator), Anthony Browne, illustrator of an edition from Julia MacRae Books, win the Kurt Maschler Award. *1998: Carroll's own copy of Alice, one of only six surviving copies of the 1865 first edition, is sold at an auction for United States dollar, US$1.54 million to an anonymous American buyer, becoming the most expensive children's book (or 19th-century work of literature) ever sold to that point. *1999: Lewis Carroll and Helen Oxenbury, illustrators of an edition from Walker Books, win the Kurt Maschler Award for integrated writing and illustration. *2008: Folio publishes ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground'' Facsimile, facsimile edition (limited to 3,750 copies, boxed with ''The Original Alice'' pamphlet). *2009: Children's book collector and former American football player Pat McInally reportedly sold Alice Liddell's own copy at auction for US$115,000.


Reception

''Alice'' was published to critical praise. One magazine declared it "exquisitely wild, fantastic, [and] impossible". In the late 19th century, Walter Besant wrote that ''Alice in Wonderland'' "was a book of that extremely rare kind which will belong to all the generations to come until the language becomes obsolete". F. J. Harvey Darton argued in a 1932 book that ''Alice'' ended an era of
didacticism Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasises instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is a conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to explain. ...
in
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
, inaugurating a new era in which writing for children aimed to "delight or entertain". In 2014, Robert McCrum named ''Alice'' "one of the best loved in the English canon" and called it "perhaps the greatest, possibly most influential, and certainly the most world-famous Victorian English fiction". A 2020 review in ''Time (magazine), Time'' states: "The book changed young people's literature. It helped to replace stiff Victorian didacticism with a looser, sillier, nonsense style that reverberated through the works of language-loving 20th-century authors as different as James Joyce, Douglas Adams and Dr. Seuss." The protagonist of the story, Alice, has been recognised as a cultural icon. In 2006, ''Alice in Wonderland'' was named among the icons of England in a public vote.


Adaptations and influence

Books for children in the ''Alice'' mould emerged as early as 1869 and continued to appear throughout the late 19th century. Released in 1903, the British silent film ''Alice in Wonderland (1903 film), Alice in Wonderland'' was the first screen adaptation of the book. In 2015, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst wrote in the ''The Guardian, Guardian'', Labelled "a dauntless, no-nonsense heroine" by the ''Guardian'', the character of the plucky, yet proper, Alice has proven immensely popular and inspired similar heroines in literature and pop culture, many also named Alice in homage. The book has inspired numerous film and television adaptations, which have multiplied, as the original work is now in the public domain in all jurisdictions. Musical works inspired by ''Alice'' include the Beatles's song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", with songwriter John Lennon attributing the song's fantastical imagery to his reading of Carroll's books. A popular figure in Japan since Meiji era, the country opened up to the West in the late 19th century, Alice has been a popular subject for writers of manga and a source of inspiration for Japanese fashion, in particular Lolita fashion. Argentina, Argentine Progressive rock, prog-rock band Serú Girán, Seru Giran used ''Alice'' as a metaphor to represent the times of political turmoil and violence in Argentina during the 1970s in their song '':es:Canción_de_Alicia_en_el_país, Canción de Alicia en el país.''


Live performance

The first full major production was ''Alice in Wonderland (musical), Alice in Wonderland'', a musical theatre, musical play in London's West End theatre, West End by Henry Savile Clarke and Walter Slaughter, which premiered at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1886. Twelve-year-old actress Phoebe Carlo (the first to play Alice) was personally selected by Carroll for the role. Carroll attended a performance on 30 December 1886, writing in his diary that he enjoyed it. The musical was frequently revived during West End Christmas seasons during the four decades after its premiere, including a London production at the Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street), Globe Theatre in 1888, with Isa Bowman as Alice. As the book and its sequel are Carroll's most widely recognised works, they have also inspired numerous live performances, including plays, operas, ballets, and traditional English pantomimes. These works range from fairly faithful adaptations to those that use the story as a basis for new works. Eva Le Gallienne's stage adaptation of the ''Alice'' books premiered on 12 December 1932 and ended its run in May 1933. The production was revived in New York in 1947 and 1982. A community theatre production of ''Alice'' was Olivia de Havilland's first foray onto the stage. A dramatisation by Herbert Prentice, Herbert M. Prentice premiered at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in 1947, and was in turn adapted for television by John Glyn-Jones and shown by the BBC on Christmas Day 1948. The BBC screened another adaptation of Prentice's play in 1956. Joseph Papp staged ''Alice in Concert'' at the The Public Theater, Public Theater in New York City in 1980. Elizabeth Swados wrote the book, lyrics, and music based on both ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and ''Through the Looking-Glass''. Papp and Swados had previously produced a version of it at the Shakespeare in the Park (New York City), New York Shakespeare Festival. Meryl Streep played Alice, the White Queen, and Humpty Dumpty. The cast also included Debbie Allen, Michael Jeter, and Mark Linn-Baker. Performed on a bare stage with the actors in modern dress, the play is a loose adaptation, with song styles ranging the globe. The 1992 musical theatre production ''Alice'' used both books as its inspiration. It also employs scenes with Carroll, a young Alice Liddell, and an adult Alice Liddell, to frame the story. Paul Schmidt wrote the play, with Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan writing the music. Although the original production in Hamburg, Germany, received only a small audience, Tom Waits released the songs as the album ''Alice (Tom Waits album), Alice'' in 2002. The English composer Joseph Horovitz composed an ''Alice in Wonderland'' ballet commissioned by the London Festival Ballet in 1953. It was performed frequently in England and the US. A ballet by Christopher Wheeldon and Nicholas Wright (playwright), Nicholas Wright commissioned for the The Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet entitled ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' premiered in February 2011 at the Royal Opera House in London. The ballet was based on the novel Wheeldon grew up reading as a child and is generally faithful to the original story, although some critics claimed it may have been too faithful. Unsuk Chin's opera ''Alice in Wonderland (opera), Alice in Wonderland'' premiered in 2007 at the Bavarian State Opera and was hailed as World Premiere of the Year by the German opera magazine ''Opernwelt''. Gerald Barry (composer), Gerald Barry's 2016 one-act opera, ''Alice's Adventures Under Ground (opera), Alice's Adventures Under Ground'', first staged in 2020 at the Royal Opera House, is a conflation of the two ''Alice'' books. In 2022, the Opéra national du Rhin performed the ballet ''Alice'', with a score by Philip Glass, in Mulhouse, France.


Commemoration

Characters from the book are depicted in the stained glass windows of Carroll's hometown church, All Saints' Church, Daresbury, All Saints', in Daresbury, Cheshire, England. Another commemoration of Carroll's work in his home county of Cheshire is the granite sculpture ''The Mad Hatter's Tea Party'', located in Warrington. International works based on the book include the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park, New York, and the Alice statue in Rymill Park, Adelaide, Australia. In 2015, ''Alice'' characters were featured on a United Kingdom commemorative stamps 2010–2019#2015, series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of the book. In 2021, the Royal Mint issued their first ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' commemorative coin collection, including a Five pounds (British coin), £5 coin featuring Alice and the Cheshire Cat (inspired by Tenniel's original illustration).


See also

*Down the rabbit hole *Translations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Translations of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' *Translations of Through the Looking-Glass, Translations of ''Through the Looking-Glass''


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Text


''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865, first issue, first edition, bound in original red cloth)
with forty-two illustrations by
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
full colour scan from Indiana University Digital Library
''Alice's Adventures Under Ground'' (1865), Carroll's manuscript later reworked into ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1866)
(with forty-two illustrations by
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
)full colour scan from University of Southern California Digital Library * * * *


Audio

* *


Archival materials


Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection
from University of Southern California Digital Library :
''To all child-readers of "Alice's adventures in Wonderland"'' (Christmas 1871)
:
Alice in Wonderland: coloured lantern slides, 1910-1919
::"3 square blue boxes, each with 8 glass lantern slides and leaflet with abridged excerpt from 'Alice', 24 slides & 3 leaflets all" {{Authority control 1865 British novels 1865 fantasy novels British children's novels British children's books Children's books set in subterranea Children's fantasy novels English fantasy novels High fantasy novels Surreal comedy Victorian novels Series of children's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice in Wonderland Cultural depictions of Benjamin Disraeli British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into plays Novels adapted into video games Books about rabbits and hares Novels about dreams Novels about talking animals Fiction about size change Fictional fungi Novels set in fictional countries Novels set in one day Works by Lewis Carroll Books illustrated by John Tenniel Books illustrated by Arthur Rackham Macmillan Publishers books D. Appleton & Company books Children's books set in fictional countries Children's books adapted into films Children's books adapted into comics