Just over 150 years ago on a river outing on a Summer’s day in Oxford, Charles Dodgson (otherwise known to the world as Lewis Carroll) told a story a young girl who fell down a rabbit hole into a weird and wonderful world, to the Liddell family.
The story, of course, turned into one of the most beloved children’s stories in the world ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ (and the book that followed, ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’). The original manuscript wasn’t finished until around two years later, and published the year after that – this year marks the 150th anniversary of it’s first printing by Macmillan Publishers in 1865 – but today marks Alice’s Day, the anniversary of that trip Dodgson took down the Thames.
The book itself has now been read but millions of readers around the world, been adapted into countless new plays, television series, and movies. Not to mention the hundreds of different printed editions, both in and out of circulation.
Not only did ‘Alice’ make a household name of Lewis Carroll, but the legacy of the book’s illustrator John Tenniel has ensured Alice (with her traditional Victorian dress, apron and long blonde hair) is now one of the most recognisable literary characters from around the world. His illustrations still inspire generations of cover illustrators when recreating the ‘Alice Aesthetic’ and after 150 years in circulation I thought I’d pick out some of my favourites below.
*all images via Goodreads
Row 1 (from l-r):-Evertype (2008)//Harper Design (2010)//Penguin English Library (2012)//Vintage Classics (designed by Vivienne Westwood) (2015)//General Press (Ebook version)
Row 2 (from l-r) Puffin Books (illustrated by Chris Riddell) (2008)//Penguin Books (2006)//Puffin Books (2014)//MacMillan (2014)//Minedition (2007)
