The real Alice in Wonderland
Who was the real Alice in Wonderland?
Inspiring Alice
Alice was four years old when the author Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, became a close family friend. She first met him at Christ Church College, Oxford, where her father was Dean and Dodgson was a mathematician. His fantastic stories were made up to entertain young Alice and her sisters on a boat outing and formed the basis for Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, the first draft of the Alice stories, which went on to become the most popular children’s books in England.
Angela Trend, from the Emery Down History Group, uncovers the story of Alice Liddell, who lived in the New Forest for much of her life and inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published 150 years ago.
But unlike the fictional character she inspired, the real Alice did indeed grow old, and did so while living in Lyndhurst in the New Forest for nearly 50 years. Alice Hargreaves, née Liddell, was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass stories.
Alice first met Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, at Christ Church College, Oxford, where her father was Dean. Dodgson, a mathematician, became a family friend who loved to entertain the children with stories and games.
One hot July day Alice asked for a story, so he invented the tale of a girl called Alice looking for an adventure. The girls loved the story so much that Alice asked Dodgson to write it down for her.
Carroll wrote and illustrated the story himself and gave it to her for Christmas 1864 – it was so popular with Alice and her friends that they encouraged him to publish the story.
The Punch illustrator John Tenniel drew the pictures we all know, and the book was launched in November 1865, ready for Christmas. It has never been out of print.