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Puffed sleeves
In the 1830’s puffed sleeves were very fashionable. All females had puffed sleeves on their dresses. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice is seen wearing a dress with puffed sleeves, Carroll took his modern day fashion and gave it to his young main character, Alice. -
Queen Victoria's colleges for women
Queen Victoria of England opened up colleges for women. Women weren’t thought to be equal to men and were treated unfairly. Queen Victoria felt the need to make a change by allowing women to attend college like men. This showed the country that women are equal to men. That influenced
Carroll to have his main character not only be a female but a young female. -
Crinolines under skirts
In the 1850's crinolines became very common. All women and even children wore crinolines under their skirts. This gave their dress more volume and attracted more attention. In Lewis Carroll’s book Alice wears a dress with puffed sleeves and a crinoline under her dress. Even though she is young she still manages to look fashionable, thanks to Carroll. -
First park for children
In Manchester the first playground for children was created. This caused a domino effect across the nation. Many more parks were built which allowed kids to go outside and got lots of exercise. This encouraged children to come into contact with nature and other children. Carroll was probably surprised by the increasing amount of children playing outside and incorporated a child into his book. -
Garden Parties
In the 1860’s palace garden parties were begun to extend royal hospitality to Brits from all walks of life. This was a form of respect and a way to have fun with families in the same class. In the book Carroll has a part towards the end where the Queen of Hearts has a “garden party” with Alice. -
Confederate Cruiser
In 1862, the Confederate Cruiser Alabama ran aground near London. It was used against the Union in American but the Confederates brought it near Great Britain. This probably had an effect on Carroll’s decision on having Alice follow a white rabbit down into a hole, which is underground. -
Storytelling
On July 4, 1862, Lewis Carroll told the fantasy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to Alice Liddle on a boat ride. After orally telling the story she begged him to write it down. After procrastinating for a while he finally did what she asked and wrote the story down. -
Altitude record
On Sep 5 James Glaisher passed out as they reached 29,000 feet. At a record 7 miles Henry Tracy Coxwell managed to begin their descent. This was represented in Carroll’s book by the long tunnel that Alice jumps into at the beginning while chasing the White Rabbit. The tunnel was several miles long, Alice was sure on one has ever been that deep down into the ground -
London's underground railroad
London's Metropolitan, opened to the public. Christian Wolmar authored “The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground was built and how it changed the city forever.” The underground railway is similar to the hole Alice jumped down in. The railway changed the people’s live forever, the rabbit hole changed Alice’s. -
Too Late
Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, English statesman: "It is always too late, or too little, or both. And that is the road to disaster." The white Rabbit in the book is constantly worrying about being late. The Rabbit’s famous line is referenced to Earl-Lloyod’s quote. Being late is disastrous.