A Simple Story that Became a Timeless Adventure

On a lazy, sunny afternoon in July 1862 a spontaneous storytelling session began in a boat on the River Thames. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, now better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was rowing on the river with the daughters of his good friend, Henry Liddell, three sisters named Lorina, Alice, and Edith. As the gentle strokes of the oars cut through the water, the ever-imaginative Dodgson began weaving a whimsical story to entertain the girls, a story “with lots of nonsense in it”, and, as usual, he invented the story while he was telling it.

Ten-year-old Alice was particularly captivated by the fantastical story of a bored little girl who goes looking for adventure. Dodgson named the story’s protagonist after Alice, who begged him to write it down for her. Although initially reluctant, he eventually conceded to her request and meticulously crafted a handwritten manuscript complete with 37 illustrations.

This 90-page manuscript, initially titled Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, was a personal gift to Alice Liddell and she received it in November 1864. Dodgson’s careful penmanship and delicate drawings made it a treasure, a beautifully bound book filled with the adventures of the girl who followed a white rabbit down a hole and into a world where nothing was as it seemed.

This original handwritten manuscript, a testament to Dodgson’s affection for the real Alice, remains a cherished piece of literary history, embodying the moment when a simple afternoon story became a timeless adventure for generations of readers. Read it in full here.