Complete Alice in Wonderland - L. Carroll [159]
December 20, 1863: Carroll writes to his friend Tom Taylor, seeking a referral to (and possible meeting with) John Tenniel to discuss an illustration proposal.
1863 to 1864: Carroll develops the Under Ground manuscript for potential publication.
January 25, 1864: Carroll is introduced to John Tenniel. At this time, he may have asked Tenniel to consider drawing the illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
April 5, 1864: Tenniel agrees to illustrate Carroll’s work for publication.
June 10, 1864: Carroll writes to Tom Taylor, asking assistance in titling the to-be-published version of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. Titles proposed include:
Alice Among the Elves
Alice Among the Goblins
Alice’s Hour in Elf-Land
Alice’s Doings in Elf-Land
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
June to November, 1864: Extensive letters go between Carroll, Macmillan and Tenniel as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is prepared for publication.
September 13, 1864: Carroll completes his illustrations for Alice’s Adventures Under Ground.
November 26, 1864: Carroll presents the uniquely written and illustrated manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground to Alice Liddell.
May?, 1865: Tenniel completes his illustrations for the book.
June to July, 1865: The Clarendon Press prints 2,000 copies of the first edition.
July 20 to August, 1865: Printing problems with the first edition cause it to be immediately withdrawn.
November 9, 1865: The new edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with corrected printing, is released.
November 12 to December, 1865: Glowing reviews help to drive sales of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for the Christmas season.
December 14, 1865: Carroll sends a bound copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to Alice Liddell.
Early 1866: The book becomes instantly famous, and speculation about the author becomes rampant. Carroll (Dodgson) remains in relative seclusion.
August 24, 1866: Carroll considers writing a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but sends a letter indicating to Macmillan that he will not complete it for some time. He discusses the matter with Tenniel, but Tenniel declines the offer of illustration.
Winter, 1866: Carroll writes the first pages to the “Alice” sequel.
December 15, 1867: While the writing is slow and sporadic, Carroll writes to a friend that the “Alice” sequel, tentatively titled Alice’s Visit to Looking-Glass House, is “getting on pretty well.”
April to June 18, 1868: Carroll, through repeated urgings, finally convinces Tenniel to develop illustrations for the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sequel.
June?, 1868: Carroll begins writing the Alice sequel (possibly including notes developed in 1866 and 1867, as well as consideration of older poems).
August, 1868?: Carroll has a conversation about mirror images with a young lady named Alice Raikes; the interesting themes raised at this time are incorporated into the conception of the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sequel.
January 12, 1869: Carroll sends the first completed chapter of the “Alice” sequel (then tentatively titled Behind the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Saw There) to Macmillan for consideration.
1869: Alice’s Abenteueur im Wunderland, a German translation, is published (the first of many foreign editions, which are beyond the scope of this authorial chronology).
January 4, 1870: Carroll completes the manuscript for Through the Looking-Glass.
June 1, 1870: In a letter, Tenniel encourages Carroll to drop the Wasp in a Wig chapter from Through the Looking-Glass. Carroll takes his advice.
Late 1869 to Fall, 1871: Throughout this time period, Tenniel creates the illustrations for the “Alice” sequel.
March, 1871: Carroll, concerned about the nightmarish quality of Tenniel’s Jabberwock illustration, asks that the illustration be moved from being the frontispiece to the interior of the book.
August, 1871: By this time, Carroll has completed the text of the Alice sequel, but is still waiting for the last of the Tenniel illustrations.
November, 1871: By this time, Through the Looking-Glass is finally