Alice in Wonderland Is Published
"Alice in Wonderland," formally known as "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," is a celebrated children's book written by Lewis Carroll, a pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. First published on July 4, 1865, the book arose from a story Carroll narrated to the daughters of a dean at Oxford, particularly Alice Liddell, who encouraged him to write it down. This tale not only captivated children with its whimsical narrative but also engaged adults through its satirical commentary on Victorian society.
Carroll’s innovative blending of fantasy and logic reflected a shift in literature aimed at children, which had traditionally focused on moral instruction. The book's unique illustrations, created by John Tenniel, further enhanced its appeal. Despite an initial printing mishap that limited the first edition's availability, the subsequent reprint solidified the story's popularity, leading to a lasting legacy. Carroll continued to write, producing sequels and other literary works, while "Alice in Wonderland" has since inspired countless adaptations across various media, including film and theater, and remains a foundational text in children's literature.
Alice in Wonderland Is Published
Alice in Wonderland Is Published
The children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published on July 4, 1865. Commonly known simply as Alice in Wonderland, it was written by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. In addition to being an author, Carroll was a mathematician, logician, and noted photographer.
Until modern times there was little literature that was written primarily for children. Before the Renaissance, Greek and Latin classics and the Bible were the main sources of children's literature in the Western world. Works written for children were primarily used to teach them proper behavior and morals, with the first known children's picture book being Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The visible world in pictures, 1658) by the Czech educational reformer John Amos Comenius. Later classics, such as Pilgrim's Progress (1678 and 1684) and Robinson Crusoe (1719), considered children's books today, were originally written for adults.
Lewis Carroll, who would gain renown by writing a children's book that adults could also appreciate, was born in Danesbury in Cheshire, England, on January 27, 1832. As a child Carroll showed an aptitude for mathematics and also produced a family magazine, writing most of it himself. He was taught at home by his father until he was 12, when he was sent first to a small private school in Richmond for a year and then to the Rugby School. Later, Carroll studied at Christ Church College, Oxford, where he was ordained a deacon. From 1855 to 1881 he was a member of the faculty at Oxford, lecturing on mathematics.
While at Oxford Carroll made the acquaintance of the dean of Christ Church, Henry George Liddell, and Liddell's young daughters, Alice, Lorina, and Edith. He would often tell the girls stories, illustrating them as he went along. On July 4, 1862, Carroll told his young friends a story he called Alice's Adventures Underground. Alice Liddell asked Carroll to transcribe the adventure for her and he agreed. Carroll wrote down the story more or less as he told it, adding some other adventures he had told in the past. He illustrated it and gave it to the young girl. Henry Kingsley, a novelist, happened to see the story while visiting the deanery and urged Liddell to persuade the author to publish it.
Carroll subsequently revised the manuscript further, including still more stories that he had told the Liddell girls in order to make the volume longer. He was introduced to the Punch magazine cartoonist John Tenniel, who illustrated the book according to the author's desires. The book was first published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on July 4, 1865. Owing to bad printing, this first edition was withdrawn, with only 21 copies surviving. The reprint was ready to be published by Christmas of 1865, though it was dated 1866. Carroll chose to use a pseudonym he had adopted in 1856 on the publication of his poem “Solitude.” He arrived at the pseudonym by taking his name Charles Lutwidge, translating it into Latin, and then reversing and retranslating it into English. Alice became immensely popular, making the name Lewis Carroll famous. The fantasy appealed to young children, while its satire of Victorian era events and conventions also made the book popular with adults. Among its more mature elements were spoofs of political figures from Oxford and London, and these and many other intimate jokes have prompted a variety of psychoanalytic, political, and religious interpretations over the years. Many have even read Alice's famous journey down the rabbit hole as a euphemism for a drug-induced hallucination.
A sequel to Alice, named Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, was published in December 1871. Other fictional works of Carroll's include The Hunting of the Snark (1876), Sylvie and Bruno (1889), and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893). Under his real name he also published several mathematical books, including A Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry (1860), Euclid and His Modern Rivals (1879), and Curiosa Mathematica (1888–93). Collections of his verses were first published as Phantasmagoria and Other Poems (1869) and then in two separate volumes, Rhyme? And Reason? (1883) and Three Sunsets and Other Poems (1898).
Royalties from his books allowed Carroll to travel and lighten his academic load. He bought a house in Guildford, Surrey, and died there of pneumonia on January 14, 1898. At the time of his death, Alice and Through the Looking Glass were together the most popular children's books in England and were later translated into nearly every language. The stories would also inspire numerous stage and screen adaptations, including an animated version produced by Walt Disney and released in 1951.