Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a British author, mathematician, photographer, inventor, and Anglican deacon. His whimsical children’s story, Alice in Wonderland, first emerged in 1862 as an impromptu tale spun on a picnic outing for the three young daughters of Dodgson’s friends, the Liddells. At the request of daughter Alice, he wrote the story out for her. Author and friend George Macdonald encouraged him to publish it, which he did in 1865. It steadily grew in popularity. By the time of Dodgson’s death 33 years later, it was the most popular children’s book in England.
All great literature includes the elements of Characters, Setting, Conflict, Plot, and Theme. This story chart analyzes each in Lewis Carroll’s perpetually popular Alice in Wonderland.