Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) was originally called Alice’s
Adventures Underground. Written by hand and with Carroll’s own
illustrations, it was a personal Christmas gift to young Alice Liddell.
The sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871),
added more stories, including the poem ‘Jabberwocky’. Written purely
for enjoyment, the combination of fantasy, logic, whimsy, and word play
makes this one of the greatest nonsense poems in English. The book
has inspired numerous adaptations in popular culture, such as the 1951
Walt Disney animated feature film, Alice in Wonderland, and Tim Burton’s
2010 Hollywood film by the same name, starring Johnny Depp as the
Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.