A gift to a dear child in memory of a summer's day - Lewis Carrol 1864

Today is a wonderful day. Summer has finally reached us and I plan on making the most of it - after I write this post of course.

My gorgeous calendar by Kate Beaton (http://harkavagrant.com/ if you've not read her you should) tells me that it was around this time in 1862 that Lewis Carroll aka The Reverend Charles Dodgson went on a boat trip with the three Liddell girls and the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first brought to life.  On a day like this I am more than willing to believe that the wondrous tale began at the behest of a bored, ten year old, Alice Liddell on a boat in the middle of the English countryside.

For my dissertation I studied adaptation and used Alice in Wonderland as my main example. There are many glorious, and some not so glorious films based on the novel. One looks at the story through the eyes of an elderly Alice Liddell, or as she is now known, Mrs. Hargreaves. In the film Dreamchild 1985 Mrs Hargreaves is quite literally Haunted by the Images in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In it's essence the film is a personal story through which Alice Hargreaves struggles to comprehend what being Alice actually means,both to her and her childhood friend Charles Dodgson.

The Mad Hatters Tea Party (Dreamchild 1985)

I like the image of the young Liddell girls floating along a river listening to wondrous tales and the impetuous Alice demanding the story be written because the character bares her namesake. it's a fine beginning and I can quite imagine my ten year old sister doing the same. It is a lovely tale on top of a tale and the ending to Dreamchild is deeply moving.

Ian Holmes and Amelia Shankley (Dreamchild 1985)

However when reading Alice I don't think of the reverend Dodgson or even Alice Liddell, I am completely absorbed by the story as I see her sitting lazily by the river bank, on the very first line, feeling hot and stupid in the summer heat.

Academically I have read into each sequence of the novel and attempted to uncover hidden meaning. There are countless books based on Lewis Carroll's works, they are fascinating and I love discovering more about the man, both reverend and Author but at the same time I can still follow Alice down the rabbit hole and be lost in the world beneath.

The White Rabbit - Tenniel

 Here's a link to the the Dreamchild trailer it truly is an amazing film: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8JvMdfNOrg