Lunchtime Talk: ‘Alice’s Adventures in Oxford – Real people as ‘Wonderland’ characters’

Alice’s Adventures in Oxford – Real people as Wonderland Characters (and some who weren’t!)

Within the imaginative fantasy of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’ books lie many Oxford realities, including a number of real people who feature as ‘Wonderland’ characters.

Many were University acquaintances, but some were townspeople, known to either Lewis Carroll or the real Alice (Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church). There was ‘one of the thorny kind’, for instance, and an eccentric headgear specialist whose dog Alice remembered fondly even when she was eighty years old.

Additionally, author Lewis Carroll was friendly with many Oxford families after the publications of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland‘ and ‘Through the Looking-Glass‘. His skill as a photographer and inventor of games made him a popular guest, including at the homes of families whose names live on as the Oxford institutions of Lucy & Co and Mallams, the auctioneers.

Join local historian, guide, and author Mark Davies (a trustee of the Lewis Carroll Society) for a talk which will reveal some pertinent, surprising, and long-lasting aspects of Victorian Oxford through the curious medium of the world’s most famous children’s story.

Tickets cost £5 and can be purchased online via Eventbrite (booking fee applies) or at the Museum Shop.

Further information

Complimentary tea and coffee will be available to enjoy during the talk. We recommend arriving before the start of the talk if you would like to grab a refreshment.

Sales from tickets help support our work to deliver fun and accessible family activities, community engagement projects, schools workshops, exhibitions and special events for Oxford’s people in our Museum spaces.

Mark Davies is an Oxford local historian, public speaker, and guide. His publications include the social and cultural importance of the city’s waterways (A Towpath Walk in Oxford; Alice in Waterland; Alice’s Oxford on Foot; What a Liberty!), historical crime (Stories of Oxford Castle; The Abingdon Waterturnpike Murder) and a biography of the first English hot air balloonist, James Sadler (King of All Balloons). He is a Trustee of the Lewis Carroll society, a member of the Society of Authors, and on the committee of the Alliance of Literary Societies.

Access

There is step-free, level entry access to the Town Hall via the entrance closest to Carfax Tower (to the left of the main steps as you face the Town Hall). Inside the Museum, Museum Makers is accessible via a platform lift to the Galleries and then a lift to the basement.

Accessible toilets are available in the Museum (close to Museum Makers) and in the Town Hall on the ground floor, before entering the Museum. Please contact the Museum team if you’d like to talk to a member of staff about your access requirements. Further access information can be found on our page dedicated to access at the museum.

Photo consent

Please be aware that photographs will be taken at this event for use in marketing. If you (or a member of your group) would prefer not to be photographed, please let a member of staff know during the event.