In 1864, Lewis Carroll sent Alice's Adventures under Ground, a handwritten and illustrated manuscript, as a gift to Alice Liddell, the daughter of his Oxford dean. This formed the basis for Carroll's Alice in Wonderland — introducing timeless characters such as Alice, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts and the Gryphon — although it differs considerably from the later work, with the author himself approving its publication in 1886. Alice's Adventures under Ground provides an enchanting glimpse into Carroll's imaginative process, and deserves to be ranked as a classic for all ages in its own right.