The speaker, professor Halsall, is a 2026-2027 Lewis Carroll Visiting Fellow. Halsall: “From the playful typography to the illustrations, Carroll helped invent visual, interactive storytelling and taught children (and adults) to read across words and images.”. She will share recent research on how the ‘Alice’ story developed from manuscript to printed page, showing how Carroll and Tenniel worked together to create visual pacing strategies.

The theme for 2026 is ‘Snarks, Rhymes & Riddles’.

During this day, all kinds of family-friendly events will take place, including storytelling, talks, games, crafts, trails, and tours, like a Magic Lantern talk, an opportunity to learn how to play croquet, the viewing of the 2023 film “The Hunting of the Snark”, and a shadow puppetry theatre that brings the poem Jabberwocky to life. The Story Museum offers half price entry to their immersive galleries, face painting and storytelling. The Museum of Oxford allows you to handle Alice related objects.

As usual, there will also be free talks from the Lewis Carroll Society: “Lewis Carroll’s ‘Useful and Instructive’ limericks” by Mark Davies, “Say ‘How D’Ye Do?’ and Shake Hands” by Matt Crandall, and “Lewis Carroll, Darwin, and The Hunting of the Snark” by Stephen Thetford. At the end of the day there will be an informal social gathering for society members, that is also open to anyone else who is interested in mingling with fellow Alice in Wonderland / Lewis Carroll fans!

The fun does not stop there, because the next day you’ll have the opportunity to do a leisurely walk around Christ Church Meadow with local historian, author and Lewis Carroll trustee Mark Davies, who will highlight in particular the role of the River Thames in the creation of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking-Glass’. And there is a family event at the ‘treacle well’ that is mentioned in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The full programme for the day can be found on the website of the Story Museum.

Surrey History Centre has a significant Lewis Carroll collection. Senior archivist and curator Isabel Sullivan will give you a virtual walk through some of their exhibits..

On public view for the first time are items from important collections received over the past two years, including from the Dodgson family.

Date and time: 15 October 2025, 17:30 – 18:45
Location: Online (Zoom)
Cost: £6
Booking: https://customer.surreycc.gov.uk/article/2169?eventid=9286-6051-4314-6635&bookingformid=602 (88 spaces available)
More information: https://customer.surreycc.gov.uk/surrey-heritage-upcoming-events