Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865. Lewis Carroll’s book was issued in England by Macmillan, with illustrations by John Tenniel, and its first edition was dated 1865.
The publication history is slightly more complicated than the date alone suggests. About 2,000 copies were printed by July 1865, but Tenniel objected to the quality of the illustrations, so Carroll asked the publisher to halt distribution and arrange a new printing. A replacement run was printed by Richard Clay, and Carroll received a copy on 9 November 1865.
Macmillan released the new edition in November 1865. A separate edition prepared for the Christmas market appeared in December but carried the date 1866, which can cause confusion in quizzes and bibliographic references. The 1866 date therefore refers to a subsequent issue, not the book’s first publication year.