This year marks the 150th anniversary of the superbly surreal Alice in Wonderland, and the revived interest in the tale (there have even been a set of stamps designed in Alice's honour: http://shop.royalmail.com/alices-adve...) reminded me of how incredible Carroll's creation is.


So here's 5 facts that you (probably) didn't know about Alice in Wonderland:

1. Mock Turtle Soup is real. It was a cheaper version of green turtle soup, quite popular in Victorian times, comprised of various odd parts of a calf.

2. The novels were banned in China in 1931, on the grounds that "animals should not use human language".

3. The Dodo is Carroll's self-parody, as his stammer meant that he introduced himself, his real name being Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, as Do-Do-Dodgson.

4. Queen Victoria loved Alice's Adventures in Wonderland so much that she asked that he dedicate his next book to her. And so his next book, An Elementary Treatise on Determinants, With Their Application to Simultaneous Linear Equations and Algebraic Equations, was presented to the Queen (much to her amusement, I'm sure).

5. To turn himself into Lewis Carroll, so to speak, Dodgson took his first and middle names, translated them into their Latin form, ‘Carolus Lodovicus’, reversed the words, and then translated them back into English. (A useful tip if you're struggling to think of a pseudonym for yourself.)


And finally, my favourite quote from Alice in Wonderland, although there are lots to choose from, is:
“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don't much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go."