Primary sourceBook1865
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll · 1865
Carroll's 1865 children's novel about a girl who falls into a fantastical world, his most famous and influential work.
Carroll's defining novel, written for and about a child he knew, launching his career as a children's author.
About this source
What it is
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 children's novel by Lewis Carroll, illustrated with 42 wood engravings by John Tenniel. It grew out of a story Carroll told to Alice Liddell and her sisters on a boat trip, and has never been out of print.
Why it matters
The book helped end an era of moralising children's literature, offering nonsense, wordplay and logical paradox purely to delight readers. It shows Carroll's playful, mathematical mind and his close relationship with the Liddell children who inspired it.
Look closer
- Why might a story written to entertain real children have become so influential for adults too?
- What does the choice of a girl falling into a fantasy world tell you about Victorian ideas of childhood?
- How might Tenniel's illustrations have shaped the way readers imagine Alice and her world?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Lewis Carroll on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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