Alice, I Have Been

Alice I have Been, a work by Melanie Benjamin, has been the first work of historical fiction I have picked up in a while. This tale of Alice Liddel and her struggles with her identity were a treat to follow. People no matter what their histories are haunted. Alice Liddel, more often known as "Alice in Wonderland" was no different. The Liddel's were a prestige family where Alice's father was the Dean of Oxford Church Christ itself. There she met Charles Lutwidge Dodgson at the age of 7 and a remarkable friendship ensued. Mr. Dodgson, as we come to know him, grew increasingly fond of the Liddel children expecially towards Alice. There is an intimate moment in which Alice and Mr. Dodgson shared that enamored them both in a way that was not permitted. Yet they consoled each other as the years flew by them. Dodgson a lonley outcast, and Alice a middle child which never quite grew to know the affection of her mother and found it in the storytelling friend. We follow Alice through the years and share in the anticipation to when it is revealed to us why Alice and Mr. Dodgson's one "Sunny Afternoon" of an inconventional romance seemed to haunt them both until the end of their lives. It's a tale down the rabbit hole worth taking.