City of Children's Literature - Oxford - Where Harry Met Alice
On Sunday 14th April 2002, over 100 members of the public along with a number of representatives
from the press from all over the UK travelled to Oxford on the world famous Orient Express. On this special occasion, this renowned train was hauled by
the equally famous Flying Scotsman recreating the steam of Hogwart's Express. And on such an occasion it was right that its most special guest â“
providing the inspiration for the tour and the theme for the day â“ was Harry Potter, travelling to meet Alice in Wonderland who greeted him on the
platform in Oxford with a tray of jam tarts.
This may seem a strange scenario but there is a very simple explanation behind this unusual journey.
Oxford is promoting its extraordinary links with children's literature, and in an effort to demonstrate how strong these links are, joined up with
Excellence Travel for the first of many children's literature tours to Oxford.
It was during his time teaching at Christ Church that Charles Dodgson, a shy mathematics don, wrote the stories of Alice's adventures under the pen name Lewis
Carroll. It is now possible to trace some of the obscure story lines in the book to the surroundings and landscapes which Alice herself would have known while she was
living at the college. Opposite Christ Church, in St Aldate's, is Alice's Shop where Alice Liddell (the real-life Alice) would buy her sweets. To us it is better known as The
Old Sheep Shop in Alice Through the Looking Glass. The recent Sotheby's sale of Alice Liddell's personal effects saw the Museum of Oxford successfully bidding
against private collectors, and preserving items such as Alice's dress and fan for the nation.
All those on the 'When Harry met Alice' tour were chauffeured on Guide Friday open top busses to Christ Church. There they were given guided tours to discover the facts
behind the fiction. After a sumptuous high tea in the magnificent 16th century Dining Hall they had the opportunity to discover the treasures of The Museum of Oxford, and
still had time to visit Alice's Shops and Gallery.
The day included the launch, by Oxford children's author and BBC Radio presenter Humphrey Carpenter, of the Alice in Oxford website. To mark the city's 140 year
association with Alice www.aliceinoxford.net will provide advice of how to get to
Oxford, what to see, and the fascinating background to the sites and the books. So successful has the website been that it won the Yahoo Pick of the Week Award in 14
January 2002.
J K Rowlings' books of the adventures of Harry Potter have brought children back to reading everywhere and it
seems appropriate that Oxford was selected for some of the key locations in the films. Look out for Hogwart's Hall on your visit! It was therefore very apt that Harry should
come to meet Alice as a tribute to Oxford's literary connections.
Other links to children's literature in Oxford can be found at www.visitoxford.org
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