What Is the Story of Alice in Wonderland?

By Dana Meachen Rau, Who HQ and Robert Squier

Who HQ brings you the stories behind the most beloved characters of our time.

Find out how Alice in Wonderland became a children's classic.

Published in 1865 by British author Lewis Carroll, this fantasy adventure story introduced the world to Alice and introduced Alice to some very strange but beloved creatures, including The White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and The Queen of Hearts.

This silly tale that started out as a collection of stories written for one little girl became so popular that even Queen Victoria, the British monarch, couldn't put it down! Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles L. Dodgson, went on to write several sequels and other books, but Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking-Glass are by far his most famous stories.

Author Dana Meachen Rau takes readers through the book's history--from Carroll's initial inspiration--Alice Liddell--all the way to the movies, plays, and other adaptations that are entertaining fans today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
• Release date: Apr 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781524791780

Dana Meachen Rau

Dana Meachen Rau is an author, editor, and illustrator of children’s books. She has written more than 100 books for children, many of them nonfiction in subjects including astronomy, history, and geography, as well as numerous biographies. She lives in Burlington, Connecticut, with her husband and two children.

Book preview

Cover for What Is the Story of Alice in Wonderland?Book title, What Is the Story of Alice in Wonderland?, author, Dana M. Rau, imprint, Penguin Workshop

For the curious, strong, and fearless women of my writers’ group—Alices all—DMR

For Jessica, who appreciates books with pictures and conversations—RS

PENGUIN WORKSHOP

An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York

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The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, which are in the public domain, appear on the following pages: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Copyright © 2021 by Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Published by Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. PENGUIN and PENGUIN WORKSHOP are trademarks of Penguin Books Ltd. WHO HQ & Design is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 9781524791766 (paperback)

ISBN 9781524791773 (library binding)

ISBN 9781524791780 (ebook)

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Contents

What Is the Story of Alice in Wonderland?

Serious and Silly Charles Dodgson

A Strange and Adventurous Story

A Very Curious Girl

Readers Want More!

Alice for Everyone

Alice Goes to the Movies

Short and Long Alice Adventures

Alice Everywhere

Visiting Wonderland

Bibliography

What Is the Story of Alice in Wonderland?

On July 4, 2015, residents of and visitors to Oxford, England, were invited to a dance called the Lobster Quadrille. They gathered in a large grassy field. When the music began, they danced the steps they had been practicing for weeks. Adults and children dressed as lobsters, turtles, playing cards, white rabbits, and queens. Many wore blue dresses and white aprons to look like the seven-year-old character Alice from the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Every year, the town of Oxford presents Alice’s Day to celebrate the day in July 1862 when the writer Charles Dodgson took three young sisters of the Liddell family on a boat ride up the river Thames. During the trip, he invented a story about a girl named Alice who enters a magical place filled with odd creatures, silly games, and ridiculous adults. After that boat ride, Charles wrote down his story and published it as a children’s book.