A treasured early manuscript version of one of the most enduring children’s stories, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  

Charles Dodgson, later to be known as Lewis Carroll, was a mathematics tutor at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1856 he became friends with Henry Liddell and his family. Dodgson’s friendship with the Liddell children would lead to one of the most successful children's books ever.  

The story was told to Alice Liddell and her sisters, Lorina and Edith, on a trip down the river on July 4, 1862. During the trip, Dodgson told the girls a story that featured a bored little girl named Alice who goes looking for an adventure. Alice asked Dodgson to write it down for her. On November 26, 1864, Dodgson presented Alice with this manuscript as “A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer's Day”. Dodgson was encouraged by friends to publish his manuscript so everyone could enjoy it.   

So how did the manuscript end up at the British Library?  

Alice Liddell treasured it until 1928 but was forced to sell it to pay death duties for her husband. The manuscript sold at Sotheby’s for £15,000 to a Dr. Rosenbach. He in turn sold it to Eldridge Johnson. Following Johnson’s death in 1946, the manuscript was again at auction. This time it was purchased by a group of benefactors who donated the manuscript to the British Museum in 1948.  

 Produced by Devin Lawrence in Vrindavana  

Production Executive Avalon Giuliano in London  

ICON intern Eden Giuliano in Delhi    

Music by AudioNautix with their kind permission