Alice I Have Been Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Origin of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and our BookBrowse Review of Alice I Have Been.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

About This Guide

Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.

The questions and discussion topics that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Melanie Benjamin's Alice I Have Been.

Reader's Guide

1. What social forces motivate each of the characters to deny Dodgson's inappropriate attention to Alice?
2. Alice became famous through no fault of her own.  Can you come up with a modern day version of Alice?   How do their lives compare?
3. Alice refuses to read Alice in Wonderland until she is well into her eighties. Why do you think she avoids reading the story she inspired?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Bantam Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.