Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

What’s down the rabbit hole?

A hot summer’s day on the riverbank, and young Alice is bored. Bored, that is, until a white rabbit in a checked jacket scurries past in a great hurry, examining a pocket watch. Burning with curiosity, Alice can’t help but follow the rabbit down the hole which leads to a long passageway – and a tiny door too small to get through.

So begins Alice’s adventures in the amazing world of Wonderland. In the pages that follow a strange liquid will shrink her to only ten inches tall; a curious cake will disappear before her eyes; a mad hatter will invite her to tea – and Alice will play a very dangerous game of croquet…

The character of Alice is based on Alice Liddell, the ten-year-old daughter of an academic at Christ Church College in Oxford, where author Lewis Carroll studied and taught. Carroll would tell Alice stories to entertain her: Alice begged him to write them out and he presented them to her in 1864. He was later persuaded to publish and, after further additions, the book as we know it today appeared in 1865, including the famous illustrations by John Tenniel.

Alice in Wonderland was Lewis Carroll’s first novel and its fantasy plot, humorous rhymes and brilliant use of nonsense was revolutionary. Nineteenth-century children’s writing usually served moral or educational purpose, but  Alice was written firmly and purely for the amusement of children. Critical response was lukewarm, but the book was still a great success, and remains a hugely influential classic of children’s literature.

Alice appeals to adults as well as children and over the years readers and critics have found within it all manner of riddles, puzzles, mathematical concepts and references to Carroll’s famous and not-so-famous friends.

Lewis Carroll was the pen-name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, born in 1832 in Cheshire in the north of England. His father, the local rector, came from a family of distinguished scholars and clergymen. Dodgson continued the academic family tradition and studied mathematics and theology, eventually becoming a mathematician at Oxford University.

He first began to write comic poetry and prose in the 1850s and had several pieces published in magazines, where he first began to use the name Lewis Carroll. In 1856 he met four-year-old Alice Liddell who was to inspire the book which made Dodgson’s name, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865. The book was an immediate success, was translated into many languages and soon established itself as an English classic. Its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, appeared in 1871. Their revolutionary combination of word-play, humour and nonsense had never been seen before in writing for children. His other great masterpiece of nonsense is the poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876), and other books for children including Phantasmagoria (1869) and Sylvie and Bruno (1889).

Charles Dodgson never married and remained at Oxford all his adult life, where he wrote several books on mathematics and logic as well as devising board games and brainteasers. He was also an expert  photographer, famous for his portraits of children and many artistic personalities of the day. He died in 1898.

9/10 Its fantasy plot, humorous rhymes and brilliant use of nonsense was revolutionary.

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17 positive reader review(s) for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll biography

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reader reviews

from India

Good book
9/10 ()

from India

I love this book and the review is wery nice, I like the review.
10/10 ()

from India

It's a nice book with adventures.
8/10 ()

from India

Thank you for taking the time to write this book, it really makes a difference and helps the readers to find their perfect book .
10/10 ()

from Nepal

I love that book. It was intresting.
8/10 ()

from U.S.A.

I loved the book so much I read it twice! It was amazing, some parts were confusing, but it was interesting and exciting. If you haven't already read it, you really should!
10/10 ()

from UK

I found this book interesting! I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but it is really good from the front and the blurb too. This is never from reality but i wish it happened!
10/10 ()

from India

Very well ! I usually get bored by such books. But this one was nice, good better, best !
9/10 ()

from United Kingdom

Interesting book that shows no sense of reality but I believe that it is cleverly written.
8/10 ()

from Nepal

it was amazing and wonderful to read this.
10/10 ()

from India

This book is very interesting . I liked it very much.
9/10 ()

from India

This book is quite interesting.
10/10 ()

from England

It was a bit confusing and the vocab wasn't very good. Also not that interesting...
7/10 ()

from India

It is quite an interesting book, I loved it.
9/10 ()

from India

It was a fantastic plot. I liked it as is a story of a small girl.
10/10 ()

from UK

It's an awesome story, I loved it.
10/10 ()

from England

Alice's adventures are so wondrous and magical, that the reader cannot help being drawn into a fantasy world. Lewis Carroll created many unforgettable characters and situations for Alice to encounter. Readers of all ages will be captivated by the book's charm and humour. Top quality literature.
10/10 ()

9.2/10 from 18 reviews

All Lewis Carroll Reviews