Everyone’s familiar with Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s classic and the huge influence it’s had on modern culture. The Mad Hatter, the Duchess, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar—all of these strange and familiar creatures appear in Alice, and the nonsensical style, memorable poems, and colorful set pieces are just as influential. The book was originally written as gift to Alice Liddel, the daughter of one of Carroll’s friends. Carroll had told the story to Alice during a rainy-day boat trip up a river. It stuck in his mind, and a few years later the completed manuscript was published in 1865. More than 150 years later, it’s just as popular as it ever was.