Alice In Wonderland 10 Things You Didn't Know

Since its publication in 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has remained a classic tale that bridges the gap between children's and adult literature.

The author paints a fantastical portrait of the world "down the rabbit hole" that has inspired the imaginations of generations of children, while the themes of absurdity and logical incongruity allow for more complex literary analysis by older readers.

Written by Charles Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, the book was met with mixed reviews at the time of publication. Critics were more fascinated by the first edition's illustrations than by Carroll's writing. Few would have guessed the story would remain a literary classic well over a century later.

1. The original illustrations in Alice do not look a thing like the real-life Alice. Alice in Wonderland first came to life as a story told to three young sisters—one of whom, Alice Liddell, inspired the title character. The girls were the daughters of Henry Liddell, the dean of Christ Church college in Oxford, where Carroll taught. John Tenniel, a political cartoonist, illustrated the first editions of the book but did not model Alice on the character's inspiration. Liddell had shorter, dark hair, while Tenniel, who refused to use a model, drew Alice with long blonde hair.

2. Carroll's sudden break from the Liddell family is a lingering mystery. One of Carroll's diaries has been noted for missing several pages (between April 18, 1858, and May 8, 1862) that are thought to explain the mysterious end of communication between him and Alice Liddell's family. Whether the pages simply went missing or he removed them himself has been a matter of controversy.