Introduction

Crazy, absurd and amusing; Alice in Wonderland has become a byword for the unreal and highly imaginative.  It has inspired children, artists, writers, film producers and musicians worldwide.  This quintessentially English story has gained global eminence.  It is a perennial favourite popular across all ages and cultures.  The image of a little blonde haired girl, dressed in a blue dress and white pinafore and hair caught back by band is instantly recognisable as Alice.  Other characters too have developed recognisable identities of their own such as the White Rabbit complete with his pocket watch, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen and the Playing Card soldiers.  It is an amazing achievement for a quiet Oxford don who created the stories just to amuse a group of children.

 

Oxford will forever remain the key area associated with Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. It was here that the story was created on that hot day long ago, when Carroll took the Liddell children for a boat ride along the river.

 

Over the years, Carroll’s work has come under scrutiny. He has been variously described as a frustrated, unmarried clergyman, a talented photographer, a social historian offering insights into Victorian life, and a nonsense writer like Edward Lear, another Victorian writer.

 

Port Meadow is the location of the White Rabbit’s rabbit hole, while nearby is the dark wood ‘where things have no name’ as well as Godstow Lock where Alice first encountered a white rabbit with pink eyes who ran close by, muttering he was late.  The treacle well and the pool of tears can also be found near Oxford, the city in which both Alice and Lewis Carroll made their home.  Yet there are many other locations that have a claim to fame, and possess connections to the Alice story.

 

Lewis Carroll was born in Daresbury, Cheshire where the church has a beautiful stained glass window featuring the author and his characters. Down in Cornwall, Antony House was used as a setting for Tim Burton’s stunning film Alice in Wonderland, as did Charlestown harbour. While over in North Wales, the Liddell family had a holiday home in Llandudno and there are now special trails that can be followed.

 

This is the story of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell – the girl who became better known as Alice in Wonderland.  It shows how the story was taken up by theatres, musicians and film companies and looks at the many places, which will remain forever associated with Alice in Wonderland from Oxford to Llandudno, Daresbury to the Isle of Wight. Part biography, part travel guide this book will inform and entertain as well as providing lots of ideas as to where to go to see the places associated with Alice.

 

 

Illustrations

Cover and illustrations by Karis Youngman

 

 

 

Alice

It was a blazing hot summer afternoon on 4 July 1862, when Alice Liddell and her sisters went rowing on the river with Lewis Carroll – something they had done many times before. But this time there was a memorable result.  Leaving Folly Meadow, they rowed five miles down the river before stopping at Port Meadow, near Godstow in Oxfordshire for a picnic.  Lewis entertained his guests with a story in which Alice became the central character encountering a White Rabbit who fled past her looking at a pocket watch and muttering that he would be late. The story caught Alice’s imagination. She enjoyed it so much that she asked him to write it down. The rest is history – this was the introduction of a story that has resounded down the years, and become immortal.

 

It is generally accepted that while the main part of the story was told that day, additions were made when Carroll began to write the story.  He had been telling the children stories for some years, particularly as a way of keeping them occupied while undertaking photography. 

 

Alice in Wonderland tells the story of Alice falling down a rabbit hole and entering a world of anarchic fantasy.  It is a dream world where anything can happen as she tries to make her way through the crowd of characters and return home.  Pigs turn into babies, croquet is played with flamingos, the head of a Cheshire Cat with a big grin appears and disappears at will while white roses are painted red by playing card gardeners. The Red Queen is constantly shooting ‘off with her head’ while a caterpillar smokes a pipe. A Dodo holds a caucus race involving everyone running in a circle and never having a clear winner. The images of a White Rabbit complete with fob watch, constantly worrying about the time; a Mad Hatter holding an anarchic tea party; and playing cards that come to life have been enjoyed ever since. 

 

The sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, was written later and showed Alice stepping through a mirror into a reflected world in which the game of chess is the dominant feature. The majority of characters are chess pieces, and Alice is initially a pawn.  She has tasks to do as she attempts to cross from one chess square to another in order to be crowned Queen. While crossing forests where the Red Knight tries to capture her, Alice is rescued by the White Knight. A chaotic party results when Alice is eventually crowned queen only to end when Alice ‘captures’ the Red Queen whom she believes to be her kitten in disguise. Many of the classic images from the earlier book are reused such as the playing cards.  There are other characters such as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Lion and the Unicorn, the Walrus and the Carpenter.

 

When published, the story was instantly popular. Since then, Lewis Carroll and Alice have become an integral part of literature and film, as well as every childhood. 

 

Alice Liddell

 

The character of Alice was based on a real person: Alice Pleasance Liddell. She was the fourth in a family of ten children. Her sisters included Lorina and Edith – both were mentioned in the Wonderland stories by their nicknames Lory and The Eaglet. When Alice was born in 1852, her father was the headmaster of Westminster School and chaplain to the Prince Consort.  Her family had aristocratic links and were on the edge of the royal network.  Henry George Liddell had co-authored a popular Greek lexicon, which became a standard school textbook, providing him with a steady additional income. 

 

In 1858, Alice and her family moved to Christ Church College, Oxford where her father had been appointed Dean.  It was here that she came into contact with Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll.  Carroll had an office overlooking the Deanery Garden and saw the children playing. As he had just taken up the new hobby of photography, Carroll and his friend Reginald Southey  (also a photographer) asked permission to photograph the children.  For the next few years Alice was frequently used as a subject for photographs.  A lively, intelligent child, she was a pretty little girl, and could hold a pose for long periods. 

 

According to Alice the stories began when Carroll was seeking ways of keeping the children amused while photographing them.  Some of the photographs were unusual for the period, showing Alice with bare shoulders dressed as a beggar girl, holding a ukulele or pretending to sleep. Many years later, Alice commented that “Mr Dodgson told us many, many many stories before that famous trip up the river to Godstow.’

 

Alice was taught at home, and like her sisters had contact with various tutors.  John

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 04.06.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-1782-1

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