On what date did Carroll give Alice Liddell the Alice's Adventures Under Ground manuscript?

The story behind the answer

Carroll gave Alice Liddell the manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground on 26 November 1864.

The handwritten book was Carroll’s expanded record of stories he had told Alice and her sisters during a boating trip on the River Isis near Oxford. He wrote and illustrated the manuscript himself, then presented it to Alice as a Christmas gift, dedicating it “to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer’s Day.”

The manuscript was not yet the published Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Carroll later enlarged and revised it, adding episodes such as the Mad Hatter’s tea party and commissioning John Tenniel’s illustrations. The finished book appeared in 1865, although the first edition was withdrawn and a reprinted edition carried an 1866 date.

A common mix-up is confusing 26 November 1864 with the dates connected to the story’s creation and publication: Carroll first told the tale in 1862, began writing it soon afterward, and the printed novel followed several years later.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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