Carroll and Alice: "The Golden Afternoon" Quiz

Answer: Alice Pleasance Liddell

Alice Pleasance Liddell was born in the Rectory at Christ Church, Oxford University, in Oxford, England on May 4, 1852. She was the Liddell's fourth child at the time and Henry Liddell was by then the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. Her older siblings were Harry, born 1847, Lorina, born 1849, and Arthur, who was born in 1850 and died in 1853. Edith, who would gain fame as part of the boating crew, was born in 1854.

Edith Liddell tragically died in 1876 at the young age of 22, possibly of peritonitis.

Dodgson intentionally utilized the uniqueness of Alice's middle name when, in a preface to "Alice Through The Looking-Glass", which was published in 1871, he wrote:

"It shall not touch with breath of bale.
The pleasance of our fairy tale."

Answer: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born in the Daresbury parsonage in Warrington, Cheshire, England on January 27, 1832. He first attended Oxford University as a student in January 1851, and became a full-time mathematics lecturer shortly after. He taught for many years at Oxford until retiring in 1881, wealthy and famous.

Answer: In the Deanery garden

Dodgson, with a new interest in photography, had borrowed a camera with the intention of photographing Christ Church Cathedral. Not having any luck with that undertaking, he ventured into the garden behind Dean Liddell's residence where he saw the three young Liddell daughters: Lorina, 7 years old, Edith, 2 years old, and Alice, 4 years old.

Dodgson took pictures of the trio and noted the meeting in his diary. He would later highlight this meaningful entry with the words: "I mark this day with a white stone."

Dodgson became a prominent photographer later in his life. In addition to members of Alice Liddell's family, other prominent sitters were:
Alfred, Lord Tennyson - Poet Laureate (Britain).
Michael Faraday - Noted physicist.
Julia Margaret Cameron - professional photographer.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - English painter, famous for his Pre-Raphaelite style.
Ellen Terry - Famous stage actress.
John Everett Millais - English painter, colleague of Rossetti.

Answer: July 4, 1862

For fans and scholars of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, "July 4, 1862" remains a defining moment in the annals of popular literature. It pinpoints a specific time when the chance request by a little friend inspired a brilliant young mathematician to create what is widely considered to be one of the greatest children's classics of all time.

A popular pastime for residents of Oxford was a boat trip on the River Thames, known as the "River Isis" locally. Beginning at Folly Bridge, boaters would head north toward Godstow, south toward Nuneham, or simply remain around Oxford. In Dodgson's diary entry for that day, the boat crew consisted of Dodgson, his friend Robinson Duckworth, and the three Liddell girls. They went to Godstow, had tea and sandwiches on the bank of the river, then returned to the College later in the evening.

Initially, Dodgson's diary entry for "July 4, 1862" did not contain any reference to Alice's request. It was only later that he made a notation on the page's margin.

The preface poem to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland":

"All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretense
Our wanderings to guide."

"Ah, cruel Three! In such an hour,
Beneath such dreamy weather,
To beg a tale of breath too weak
To stir the tiniest feather!
Yet what can one poor voice avail
Against three tongues together?"

"Imperious Prima flashes forth
Her edict to "begin it"--
In gentler tones Secunda hopes
"There will be nonsense in it"--
While Tertia interrupts the tale
Not more than once a minute."

"Anon, to sudden silence won,
In fancy they pursue
The dream-child moving through a land
Of wonders wild and new,
In friendly chat with bird or beast--
And half believe it true."

"And ever, as the story drained
The wells of fancy dry,
And faintly strove that weary one
To put the subject by,
"The rest next time"-"It is next time!"
The happy voices cry."

"Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:
Thus slowly, one by one,
Its quaint events were hammered out--
And now the tale is done,
And home we steer a merry crew,
Beneath the setting sun."

"Alice! A childish story take,
And with a gentle hand
Lay it where Childhood's dreams are twined
In Memory's mystic band,
Like pilgrim's withered wreath of flowers
Plucked in a far-off land."

Please note: "Prima" refers to Lorina, "Secunda" to Alice, and "Tertia" to Edith. In the actual story, Dodgson is represented by the dodo, Duckworth by the duck, Lorina by the lory, Edith by the eaglet, and Alice as herself.

Answer: Alice's Adventures Under Ground

Although Carroll completed the original manuscript for Alice in February, 1863, it took him until September 1864 to do the hand-drawn illustrations. Titled "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" and intended as a Christmas gift to his dear friend, the book's inscription read:

"A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child, in Memory of a Summer Day."

Upon reading a draft of the novel to his own children and seeing their enthusiasm, novelist George MacDonald persuaded his friend Carroll to re-write and publish the story. Carroll expanded the original story from 18,000 to 35,000 words and brought in noted illustrator Sir John Tenniel to do the illustrations. Notably, Tenniel's famous drawings of Alice in the extended version do not resemble Alice Liddell, who had dark instead of fair hair. One supposition was that child-friend Mary Hilton Babcock was the actual model for the published Alice illustrations.

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", by Lewis Carroll, was published in 1865 to rave reviews and nationwide popularity.

Included in Carroll's illustrations for Alice's original novel was a drawing he made of her, copied from an earlier photograph she had sat for in his studio entitled "Alice with potted palm". Due to the popularity of the extended commercial version, Carroll decided to publish copies of Alice's original book. Not satisfied to include his "Alice Liddell" portrait sketch, Carroll pasted Alice's photograph over his drawing of her, located on the inner last page of the novel. Eventually, Carroll's original drawing was rediscovered and current published copies of the original "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" include both drawing and photograph, but on separate, consecutive pages.

Answer: Alice Raikes

True. Another "Alice" inspiration. Carroll met Alice Raikes while on a stay in London, England in 1871.

In 1985, a semi-fictionalized account of Alice Liddell's life was made into a film. Titled "Dreamchild", it was written by English-born Dennis Potter and directed by Scottish-born Gavin Millar. The story was set in the period of Alice's visit to the United States during the year of the Lewis Carroll Centenary celebrations in 1932. It included many flashbacks to her childhood and Alice's attempts to resolve her appreciation of and connection to the author who had "immortalized" her.
The cast:
Coral Browne - (Senior) Alice Liddell
Amelia Shankley - (Child) Alice Liddell
Ian Holm - Lewis Carroll
Peter Gallagher - News reporter

Answer: The Wasp in a Wig

In a letter dated "June 1, 1870", Tenniel had suggested to Carroll that if he wanted to shorten the story, the chapter "The Wasp in a Wig" was the best candidate. Although many were aware of the existence of the missing chapter, no one knew where it went after Carroll's death in 1898.

In 1974, the missing galley proofs emerged as a sold item at Sotheby's auction house. The newly found missing chapter has since been published, both as a separate booklet and as part of an annotated "Alice In Wonderland".

Answer: It is an acrostic of Alice's full name.

The closing 21-line verse of "Alice Through The Looking-Glass":

"A boat, beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July-"

"Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear-"

"Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July."

"Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes."

"Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near."

"In Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die."

"Ever drifting down the stream-
Lingering the golden gleam-
Life, what is it but a dream?"

In this wistful acrostic, Carroll is recalling the carefree summer days of his special friendship with Alice, never to be recaptured again.

(In my opinion, the acrostic is pure genius. A fitting closing verse in memory of special moments.)

Alice Liddell married Reginald Hargreaves in 1880 at age 28 and eventually had three sons. Two sons, eldest Alan and youngest Leopold, were killed while serving in World War One. The middle son, Caryl, survived the war and had one child, a daughter named Mary Jean (later Mrs. Mary Jean St. Clair).

Answer: Pneumonia

Lewis Carroll caught a serious chill while staying at his sister's home in Guildford. The chill resulted in either bronchitis or pneumonia that Carroll could not recover from. He was buried at Guildford's Mount Cemetery in the southeast part of England.

Lewis Carroll remained a bachelor his entire life. Although he had many friends, he was most comfortable in the company of little children, who took great delight in the stories he spun out of 'thin air'.

Answer: The British Library

"Alice's Adventures Under Ground" is considered among the British Library's most popular and prized possessions. Alice's husband, Reginald, died in 1926. In 1928, She offered her prized possession up for auction at Sotheby's to obtain much-needed funds to maintain her home, Cuffnells. Carroll's 1864 original "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" was purchased for the exorbitant sum of 15,400 pounds by a private collector. Upon the collector's death, other American interests purchased and eventually presented the manuscript to 'The British People' in recognition of their efforts to thwart the enemy (Axis powers) during World War Two.

Alice Liddell often remarked that throughout the years, her book simply lay around the house like any other volume. It never occurred to her or others that Lewis Carroll's Christmas gift to her would someday be considered worthy of a place among the revered Classics of the nation. As an adult, Alice was a very private person and as such, her husband Reginald often took great pains to shield her from the public eye. But as the "Alice" books greatly increased in popularity, Alice became more of an object of curiosity. The notion that the heroine of those wonderful stories actually existed greatly appealed to everyone's imagination. Still, despite being very tired of being in the public eye as "The real Alice", she decided to participate in one last engagement in the spirit of "Lewis Carroll and Wonderland". In 1932, Alice sailed to America as guest of honour at the anticipated celebrations of the centenary of Lewis Carroll's birth. There, she was the recipient of an "Honorary Doctor of Letters" from Columbia University, New York, USA, and the centre of attention throughout the celebrations. Later, on Alice's trip back to England, the crew and passengers of the cruise ship unfurled a huge banner of "The Cheshire Cat" on the ship's deck as a tribute to her.

On November 15, 1934, the unique inspiration for "Alice in Wonderland" died at her home in Westerham, Kent, England at the age of 82. She was buried alongside her late husband, Reginald Hargreaves, in the churchyard of Lyndhurst Parish Church. The church is located in the New Forest, Hampshire in Southern England.

"Carroll and Alice: Their Golden Afternoon" was placed online on May 4, 2007 (U.K. time), which happened to mark the 155th anniversary of Alice Liddell's birth. The coincidence is hereby noted.

Benny's bookshelf? Don't I wish.

This quiz is dedicated to Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, in memory of that "Golden Afternoon". Together, they created two timeless classics.

This quiz is also dedicated to my children, Rebecca and Benjamin.

"Ever drifting down the stream-
Lingering the golden gleam-
Life, what is it but a dream?"

Thank you for playing my sixteenth quiz creation.