Finding Wonderland

The extraordinary story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland came into being on an entirely normal day. It was just a bit of make-believe concocted by Oxford University mathematics lecturer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson on a summer jaunt to Godstow from Oxford on the River Isis. Dodgson’s only purpose was to entertain the three young Liddell sisters under his care, one of whom was named Alice, but now the story and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, are known the world over as Alice in Wonderland – and its creator is famous under his pseudonym, Lewis Carroll.

Alice Liddell first heard the tale in 1862 and begged for it to be written down for her, which Carroll dutifully did, presenting it to her as a gift. He was eventually persuaded to publish the manuscript of   in 1865 and it was an instant hit. Now, 155 years later, it has become a franchise of monstrous proportions, spawning hundreds, which looks at the book and its adaptations, and opens on 27 June.