A golden afternoon boat ride 150 years ago

Charles Dodgson traveled on a boat ride on "a golden afternoon" with Alice Liddell and her sisters and began an imaginative story about a girl falling down a rabbit hole.  Alice loved that story and encouraged Dodgson to write the story down.  Thus began the first telling of the story that would become Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  The boat ride was 150 years ago on July 4, 1862.  The book would be published in 1865 under the very careful scrutiny of Lewis Caroll, Dodgson's nom de plume, with illustrations by John Tenniel, the famous Punch cartoonist.

Here are a few links to articles that mention the anniversary.  In Brain Pickings.  In Media Bistro. In the Oxford Mail. in the Independent.

And in Oxford, England, they're celebrating the Caucus Race this weekend.  It's the fifth year that the town where Lewis Carroll lived most of his adult life is celebrating his work and imagination.  If we lived nearby, I am sure we would be there.

It will be exciting to learn about all the events planned for the 150th publication year coming up soon.