“I’m (not) late, I’m (not) late, for a very important date!”
The Story Museum has recently announced the return of Alice’s Day in Oxford. On Saturday 5 July, expect a day of spontaneous street performances, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland-themed city tours, croquet tutorials at Christ Church, and the famous Wonderland Afternoon Tea at the Story Museum to round it all off – and I’m only scratching the surface of all there is to see here. Our city will be transformed into a wonderland, right out of the pages of Lewis Carroll’s famous book.
But perhaps Oxford has always been a wonderland. With Alice’s Day on the horizon – as well as the 160th anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (from hence: Alice in Wonderland) – there is no better time than now to think about the relationship between Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s book and the city of Oxford.
Oxford’s connection with Alice in Wonderland is a story that has been recounted countless times. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll – was a mathematics lecturer at the university. One day, he met Alice Liddell, daughter of the dean of Christ Church (Carroll’s college). They would subsequently strike up a friendship that would change the course of literary history. One day, on a boat ride on the River Thames, Lewis told Alice a story about a little girl who shared her name, and fell down a rabbit hole into a magical land. And the rest was history.
It is not surprising that Carroll’s book makes various nods to Oxford. Most interesting to me is the Dodo who proposes a “Caucus Race”. The bird is often thought to represent Carroll himself, satirising how he would stutter his surname as “Do-Do-Dodgson”. But the Dodo also has a connection to the city – Oxford’s Museum of Natural History preserves a Dodo skull (one of few in the world), and Carroll is said to have sketched his bird from his visits to the collection. As the Dodo demonstrates, Alice in Wonderland allows a rich glimpse into the esoterica and history of our city.
It is, therefore, also unsurprising that Oxford has embraced its links to Alice in Wonderland. Alice’s Shop lies just across the road from Christ Church Meadows, and is rife with Alice in Wonderland gifts and souvenirs – a popular appeal to tourists in Oxford. It might also surprise you to know that The Independent Café (just a few doors away from Alice’s Shop) was once the Café Loco – a café lavishly decorated with specially commissioned Wonderland-themed art.
Oxford is also home to various Alice in Wonderland-core pubs and bars. There is the Eagle and Child – currently closed for renovation – where Carroll congregated with other literary icons of his time, including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The pub commemorates Carroll’s circle, the “Inklings” (which, by the by, sounds like a great band name) in its “Rabbit Room”, full of Inkling memorabilia. If you’re looking for a bar that’s still open, The Mad Hatter fully embraces the Wonderland aesthetic. With its bright and colourful decorations and its Alice in Wonderland-themed drinks menu, an evening there feels like an alcohol-fuelled rendition of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. When we went there the other week, we even had to answer a riddle before we were permitted entry to the bar: what can’t be used until it’s broken? (Keep reading to the end, if you’d like to check your answer!)
Christ Church – the home of Carroll and Liddell – is perhaps the quintessential Alice in Wonderland college. There is much that will appeal to the avid Carroll fan, from the tiny door in the Cathedral Garden leading into the Deanery garden (inspiration for a similar door in Carroll’s book), to the andirons in the Dining Hall shaped like long-necked ladies (reminiscent of one of the shapes into which Alice transforms after eating the mushroom). Indeed, there are many Alice in Wonderland Easter eggs to be found in the Dining Hall. Once the initial “oh my goodness, this is like Harry Potter!” has worn off, keep an eye out for the stained-glass windows. You might notice one design that looks a little like a familiar face…
From a familiar face to a familiar place, perhaps the best place to end this article is to glance back to where it began: The Story Museum. From its magical portal to its Whispering Wood, The Story Museum is a space that preserves children’s literature from the past and present alike. Recently, Cressida Cowell and Toothless co-curated a dragon-themed exhibition in the Treasure Chamber. The museum also plays an important role in the Oxford/Alice in Wonderland story. Carroll is among the authors who the Story Museum preserves and remembers in its Enchanted Library (alongside a photograph of Francesca Simon and Steven Butler dressed as the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter, respectively). And, of course, there is Alice’s Day itself, perhaps the quintessential celebration of the lasting impact that Carroll’s writing has had on our city.
So, if you’re around in Oxford next month, why not join in the Alice’s Day celebrations? Not only will it celebrate the deeply-knit connections between our city and (perhaps) one of the best children’s books ever written, but it is sure to be a lot of fun!
(Oh, and if you were looking for the solution to the riddle mentioned earlier, the answer is an egg – though a glow stick also works, I suppose…)