The Complete Alice in Wonderland (63 page)

The Back Cover:
Holiday’s illustration for the back cover of the first edition portrays a hazard buoy, rocking in wild seas. The ironwork of its frame spells out the words, “IT WAS A BOOJUM.”
 
A bell, of course, is ringing in the buoy’s core.

Speculative Chronology of Jabberwock Isle

By Kent David Kelly

THE FOLLOWING dates pertain to Jabberwock Isle specifically. Interesting correlations, however, can be found when this timeline is collated together with those for Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land!

The Age of the Anglo-Saxons (circa 1000 A.D.):
The Jabberwock is slain. (Whenever this actually occurred, it took place in the early evening; the princely Jabberwock slayer met with his father at brillig, which (as Humpty Dumpty tells us) is 4:00 PM.

The Age of England (1066-1855 A.D.):
The legend of the Jabberwock fades into obscurity, as the island becomes a distant memory.

1855:
Lewis Carroll is mysteriously inspired to write “A Stanza of Anglo-Saxon Poetry,” which will later become “Jabberwocky.”
 
(He may have been inspired by a Snark, or his odd dreams at this time may have given birth to the Snarks themselves. Or both!)

1859:
Jabberwock Isle remains forgotten, wild and untouched, as Alice explores nearby Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land. (The White King and others, however, know of Bandersnatches.)

1874:
This may be the year of the Hunting of the Snark. (The poem was written in this year, and Carroll was aged 42. If Carroll is indeed represented by the Baker, who announces himself as 42 years old, this is certainly the time period of the story.)

Spring 1874:
The Bellman strives to secure funding and a crew for his Snark hunting expedition to Jabberwock Isle.

Summer 1874:
The Baker is warned by his Uncle.

Summer 1874:
The ship of fools departs for Jabberwock Isle. (Most exploratory voyages overseas take place in the summer, to minimize the danger as much as possible.)

Autumn 1874:
The landing is made, and the exploration of Jabberwock Isle begins. The disappearance occurs. (We are told that the ship has been at sea for several months, so an autumn timeframe is likely.)

In Retrospect: Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)

CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON was certainly one of the most interesting people living in a very interesting time. He was born on
 
January 27, 1832 in a rural parsonage known as Daresbury (near Warrington, Cheshire). His father was a man of the church and his mother was a very loving housewife. Charles had a difficult education in Rugby School, where he may have formed a permanent ill opinion of boys (as opposed to girls). He later went to Oxford, and attended his father’s old college, Christ Church.

Charles had many eccentric friends at school, including Robinson Duckworth. But he preferred the company of children, of whom the most famous to be remembered is Alice Liddell. (The years relating to Alice and the creation of her stories are explained in more detail in the chronology, later in this section.)

Charles was not only a writer of children’s tales, however. In fact, he was quite reclusive and often embarrassed to be known as “the author of Alice,” which led not only to the separation of himself from his pen name, but also to deeper studies in his chosen fields of serious endeavor. Charles was a noted mathematician, logician, inventor, critic, and systems analyst. He loved the theater, games, puzzles, traveling, laughter and adventure. After a long, inspiring and thoroughly eventful life, he died unmarried in 1898.

This capsule biography is shamefully brief; Lewis Carroll was one of the most complex and mysterious figures of the 19th century. There are many excellent biographies of the man, of which I primarily recommend
Lewis Carroll: A Biography
, by Morton N. Cohen;
Lewis Carroll: An Illustrated Biography
, by Derek Hudgson; and
Lewis Carroll and His World
, by John Pudney.

ALICE PLEASANCE LIDDELL was born on May 4, 1852. Her father was Henry Liddell, an esteemed scholar who would later become the Dean of Christ Church College in Oxford. Her mother was Lorina Hanna Liddell, a beautiful and strong-willed woman who did much to shape the social destinies of her children. Alice had two surviving elder siblings: a brother Harry, and her sister Lorina.

When Alice was born, her father was working as the Headmaster of Westminster School. When her father was appointed as Dean, the family moved to Oxford, where she met Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). Alice and her sisters had many adventures, exploring the wondrous grounds of Christ Church and the many meadows along the River Isis. This time in her life, when her explorations were often guided by Carroll and his friends, is further detailed in the chronology of the “Alice” stories (which follows hereafter).

As one of several intelligent and educated daughters of an esteemed and well-traveled family, Alice had many escapades and journeys in the years following her “golden childhood.”
 
She was taught to paint and draw by the famous artist, architect and romanticist, John Ruskin. She met Prince Leopold (one of the sons of Queen Victoria), and may have even had a romantic interest in him. Edith, Lorina and Alice also went on the Grand Tour, exploring the European continent, absorbing the culture and learning all the while.

Alice eventually married a gentleman named Reginald Hargreaves. They had three handsome sons, Alan, Leopold and Caryl. After a long and happy life together, Reginald passed away. Alice, pressed into hard financial times, was forced to sell her unique manuscript copy of
Alice’s Adventures Under Ground
. The Sotheby’s auction of the book caused a nationwide sensation, as the bids reached the stratospheric sum of 15,400 pounds. (The book was later returned to England as a national treasure.)
 
This auction not only solved Alice’s financial difficulties; it also made the reclusive “real” Alice (again) something of a worldwide celebrity.

In 1932, the centenary of the birth of Lewis Carroll was celebrated, and Alice was invited to a great celebration at Columbia University in the United States. There she enjoyed an orchestral suite of “Alice in Wonderland” set to music, and was presented with an honorary doctorate. The eighty-year-old Alice was quite tickled to see all of the fuss over little old her, and clearly enjoyed herself, as the surviving newsreels of the event reveal to us.

Alice passed away peacefully in 1934.

The best books (in my opinion) detailing the wonderful life of Alice Pleasance Liddell are
The Real Alice
, by Anne Clark; and
Beyond the Looking-Glass: Reflections of Alice and Her Family
, by Colin Gordon.

A Detailed Chronology of the “Alice” Stories

Compiled by Kent David Kelly

THE FOLLOWING extensive (but by no means exhaustive!) timeline is intended to summarize not only the publication of the Alice books, but also the events in Carroll’s life which directly informed his creative process in writing them. Allusions to specific characters and episodes are detailed hereafter in parenthetical annotations.

It is hoped that this chronological approach to Carroll’s development of the stories will allow the reader some deeper understanding of how Carroll’s life, and his ever-changing relationship with Alice Liddell, governed the inclusion of particular themes and caricatures throughout the stories themselves.

Of all of the essays I have written for this work, this chronology has been by far the most demanding. If any Carrollian scholars would care to provide corrections, clarifications, or further entries of particular interest, I would be grateful for the assistance!

To date, however, this is certainly one of the fuller chronologies of the “Alice” stories in the world. I hope that you find it interesting. Read on, ponder, and enjoy!

January 27, 1832:
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson is born.

1846:
Edward Lear (using the pseudonym Derry Down Derry) publishes
A Book of Nonsense
. This work likely had a significant influence on Carroll’s own literary style.

1846:
“The Shepherd of the Giant Mountains,” by Friedrich de la Motte Foqué, is translated into English by Menella Bute Smedley (a relative of Carroll). This tale, about a gryphon slayer who returns to be praised by a duke, may inspire Carroll to write his “Stanza of Anglo-Saxon Poetry” (and therefore “Jabberwocky”).

1848:
The English Struwwelpeter
, by Heinrich Hoffman, is published. This darkly humorous work, with its subversive descriptions of grim punishments suffered by unruly children, was certainly one of Carroll’s inspirations. (It is strongly alluded to when Alice is considering whether the “Drink Me” bottle is filled with poison.)

May 4, 1852:
Alice Pleasance Liddell is born.

February, 1855:
Carroll meets the new Dean, Henry Liddell (Alice’s father). (Mr. Liddell will later be the inspiration for the Crab of the Underwater School in
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
.)

August, 1855:
Carroll reads Tennyson’s “Maud” (which he will later allude to in The Garden of Live Flowers chapter of
Through the Looking-Glass
).

September 8, 1855:
The
Comic Times
publishes Dodgson’s poem, “She’s All My Fancy Painted Him,” which will later appear in a revised form in the trial scene of
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
.