Review: Alice I have Been by: Melanie Benjamin
Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.
But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?
Alice Liddell Hargreavess life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only Alice. Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.
That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.
For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.
A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire.
| Alice photographed by Dodgson |
Though the book touches upon the theory that Dodgson (as well as John Ruskin) was a pedophile, it does so with facts and without uncomfortable accusation. It also paints the picture of Dodgson as a shy and uncertain man, which is merely speculative. However, this story isn’t about Charles Dodgson, but about Alice and in that regard it was perfectly crafted. The very meticulous weaving of facts with fiction, along with the authentic historical nature of this book, is breathtaking for both those who know little or a lot about the persons involved.
| Photoshopped pic of Dodgson & Alice |
Please Visit Melanie’s WEBSITE for a great Q&A; with her about writing, and Alice.
This book was purchased by Day, but you can get your own below:)
curiouser and curiouser….This looks really good. thx
Nice review. I've been an Alice nutter since I was 17 and have studied the true story quite extensively. Naturally, I have this book, it's currently in my stack to read.
You might also like "Still She Haunts Me" by Katie Roiphe. It's a fictional account of young Alice and Lewis Carroll and beautifully written.
Heidi- It is indeed!
Brian- Thank you, I love a compelling historical fiction…I will definitely pick up "Still She Haunts Me". Like I said, after reading this book a fire had been lit and I have been devouring all types of information and books (both fiction and non) about Carroll and Alice. I am enthralled at the moment:)
Wonderful review Day – I always find that if I finish reading a book and race to find my encyclopedia or google the subject – that means the book was a keeper. We get so lost in the story that we just want to find out more about the period and the people involved.
I need to get this book!
The Lewis Carroll Biography by Morten Cohen is widely considered the best. There are also many volumes of published letters Lewis Carroll wrote to children that are a great insight to his personality. Enjoy the journey. He's fascinating figure.
Thank you for the lovely review and for the feature! I must point out, however, that the photograph you've featured that appears to be Dodgson kissing Alice is photoshopped; no such photograph was ever taken, and unfortunately this one has been widely shared on the Internet, giving more false credence to some of the rumors. This is actually two separate photographs, one of Dodgson alone, the other of Alice (her sister was also in the original, but has been removed), simply spliced together.
Fantastic post! Thank you so much Melanie! An imagination is a wonderful thing!