"The Beggar Maid"

"The Beggar Maid"

Woodcut

Image size: 5" x 6 3/4" - Edition 80 prints signed and numbered, 12 artist proofs

Alice Pleasance Liddell was the real-life inspiration behind the character of Alice in Lewis Carroll's famous novel "Alice in Wonderland". The story was first told to Alice by Charles Dodgson, who wrote under the pen name of Lewis Carroll, on her 10th birthday. On 4th July 1862, Alice, along with her sisters Lorina and Edith, asked Dodgson to entertain them during a boat ride on the Isis River in Oxford. As they rowed, Dodgson spun fantastic stories about a girl named Alice and her adventures after falling down a rabbit hole. Alice asked Dodgson to write the story down for her, which he did in the form of a manuscript titled "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" presented to her in November 1864.

Dodgson had decided to rewrite the story for publication and sent the manuscript of "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" to his friend, author George MacDonald, in the spring of 1863. The MacDonald children loved the story, and Dodgson was encouraged to seek a publisher. The book, with illustrations by John Tenniel, was published in 1865 under the name Lewis Carroll. A second book, "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There," followed in 1871. In 1886, a facsimile of the original manuscript Dodgson had given Liddell was published.

 Dodgson was a teacher at Oxford University, where Alice's father, Henry Liddell, was the Dean of Christ Church. Alice posed for a photograph taken by Dodgson, which was later used in one of his Christmas woodcut series.