The Story of Alice
Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland

Of the biographies of Lewis Carroll I've been reading, this one is definitely one of the best. It's very clearly written, with good explanations of things like Oxford studentships and interesting discussions of things going on at the time. For instance, I appreciated the discussion of what children'......more

Fascinating biography of a book, a genre I am intensely interested in right now, as I am writing one myself (on Little Women). This is a great example, thoroughly absorbing and full of fascinating detail. Mine is going to be quite a bit different, but it did inspire me.......more

As someone who is Alice-obsessed, I'm amazed that I had not ventured into the backstory until now. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst does a wonderful job of balancing the biographies of both Carroll and Alice Liddell/Hargreaves, as well as presenting all of the information he has within the context of the pe......more

A fantastic biography which helpfully reminded me that Lewis Carroll was, like many other Victorian men, Just The Worst. (14+) *Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me......more

As Carroll would have likely appreciated, this is more accurately the story of three Alices--the books, their eponymous inspiration, and the fictional character, who went on to have quite a life of her own. The books' origin story is well known--as is Dodgson's admittedly icky fascination with littl......more