The Inspiration Behind Lewis Carroll’s Book Alice in Wonderland
From reality to fantasy
Alice in Wonderland is a favourite in our house, especially the version with Johnny Depp as Hatter. Many of you may be aware of the legend of Hatter. Historically, many hat makers were sent mad due to mercury poisoning, a chemical they used to make hats.
Some of you, however, may not be aware that several other aspects of Alice’s world are based on fact. Characters and locations that were designed around real people and places.
Written at the height of the opium and laudanum’s rise, add everything Alice eats and a smoking caterpillar; many people presumed the idea came from a bad trip. The truth is far more mundane.
Alice Liddell
The character of Alice was inspired by a real-life Alice who was said to live in a magical wonderland. So much of this world remains, although never opened to the public, it is easy to find the place full of memories from Liddell and a man named Charles Dodgson.
Lewis Carroll was a pen name for Charles Dodgson. Alice was the daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, where Carroll lectured on mathematics. Alice was just three years old when he father moved her family from industrial London to the country.
