THE REAL ALICE
So long as men can breathe and eyes can see
So long lives this and this gives life to thee
- William Shakespeare Sonnet 18
Alice Pleasance Liddell was born on May 4, 1852, the fourth child of Henry and Lorina Liddell. The Liddells moved their family to Oxford in 1856 when Henry was hired to be the Dean of Christ Church College, Oxford University. Alice met Charles Dodgson, a Christ Church math professor and amateur photographer, at the college cathedral on April 25th of that year. Mr. Dodgson (as Alice called him) was 24 years old at the time. In that very same month, Dodgson had also invented his pen name, Lewis Carroll, for his writings; but it was nine years before Alice's Adventures in Wonderland would make that name immortal. The book brought Alice and Lewis Carroll together for their lifetimes and forever.
Alice grew up to become a celebrated beauty. Both a model and a gifted artist, she was painted by Sir William Richmond and photographed by Charles Dodgson and Julia Margaret Cameron. Sir John Ruskin taught her to paint and Sir Hubert Parry dedicated music to her.
The story of Alice's life is marked by obsessive love. Her marriage in 1880 to the wealthy Reginald Hargreaves made her mistress of a large estate and led to the birth of three fine sons.
The multiple tragedies in Alice's immediate family, her great personal courage during World War I and the Great Depression, and her dedication to her family and her country throughout her life, made her a cultural icon and one of the most celebrated women of the last 100 years.
Young Alice and Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll)
Alice the young woman
Alice was honored in front of the world media on May 2, 1932 by President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University
