Is it the book’s ‘Britishness,’ it’s lack of actual nonsense or that it is ‘disturbing?’ The latter two have few qualifications from this article. They are plucked out of the air. Please, do elaborate.

Carroll’s sublime access of the surreal appeals on multiple levels: visual, linguistic and as metaphor. A
well-dressed white rabbit with a fob watch? A mad tea party? Hookah-smoking caterpillars and looking
glass gateways? The human mind is nothing if not attracted to the odd, the eye-catching, couched in the
familiar. And Alice is not entirely ‘unscathed’ on her journey – she is perpetually questioned about her identity (her physical changes only add to her own confusion) – even mocked. That she stands up for herself makes her a predecessor of characters as diverse as Anne of Green Gables to Hermione Grainger.

There are few of us who cannot appreciate what a strange journey childhood is. Who are we? Who will we become? Hardened by time, or will we keep some childish adventure in our hearts? There are also few of us who cannot relate to the pleasure of an unexpected adventure.

In his screenplay for ‘Dreamchild,’ Dennis Potter shows us an aged and deeply cynical Alice (based upon the real Alice Hargreaves) on her final journey to a strange land (America, in this case) and her confusion about her relationship with the late author. After seeking some financial security from his memory (and the celebrity it made of her), she comes to realize that the (unasked for) gift wasn’t a burden, but something beautiful, borne of love.

If you want to understand the appeal of Alice, there’s no need to look much further.