Alice in Wonderland

Many of your may have recently seen Time Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and who could resist? But, how many of you have actually read the book? To coincide with our pole, here are some interesting tidbits on the original book and its origins:


• The original title was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

• The novel was written in 1865 by an English author by the name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudo name: Lewis Carroll.

• The story was based on a 10 year old girl, born in 1852, by the name of Alice Pleasance Liddell. Alice Liddell had dark hair and a short fringe. It is unknown who John Tenniel, the illustrator, used as a model for the Alice portrayal we are familiar with today.

• Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, is caricatured as the Dodo in the story, because Dodgson stuttered when he spoke. Thus, when he spoke, he annunciated his last name as Do-Do-Dodgson.

• "All in the golden afternoon..." —the prefatory verse, an original poem by Carroll that recalls the rowing expedition on which he first told the story of Alice's adventures underground.

• Among the first avid readers were Queen Victoria and Oscar Wilde.

• This book has never been out of print and has been translated into125 languages.

• The title is commonly referred to Alice in Wonderland by the countless adaptations in of theater, film, opera, ballets and other media.

• The title of the sequel is Through the Looking-Glass, and, What Alice Found There.

• Lewis Caroll’s own copy of Alice, one of only six surviving copies of the 1865 first edition, sold at an auction for $1.54 million dollars to an anonymous American buyer. It became the most expensive children’s book ever traded of the 19th century!

In the book, the Mad Hatter gives his famous riddle without an answer:

“Why is a RAVEN like a writing desk?”

Lewis Carol was big on riddles, but he never intended this riddle to have a solution. However, in a preface to the 1896 edition of Alice, he proposes several answers:

“Because it can produce a few notes,
though…they are very flat;
and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!”

Notice the spelling of “never” as “nevar.” This turns NEVAR into RAVEN when it is inverted. Unfortunately, the spelling nevar was “corrected” into never in later editions and Carroll’s pun was lost.



Speaking of the Mad Hatter, this character was inspired by the phase “as mad as a hatter.”

In those days, mercury was used in the process of making hats. It was impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the fumes from the mercury while making the hats. The mercury vapor caused neurological damage resulting in confused speech and distorted vision. Many hatters died young as a result of mercury poisoning.

Undoubtedly, there are a lot more tidbits out there. We just hope these will entice you to go to your nearest library and, if you don’t already own it, pick up this old classic and read on.

Oh yeah, and just for fun, click on the title above to watch the original 1951trailer to Alice in Wonderland.