Martin Gardner, along with other scholars, have shown the book to be filled with many parodies of Victorian popular culture, suggesting it belongs in spirit with W. S. Gilbert and Alfred Cellier's Topsyturveydom.

Most of the book's adventures may have been based on or influenced by people, situations, and buildings in Oxford and at Christ Church.
For example, the "Rabbit Hole" symbolised the actual stairs in the back of the Christ Church's main hall.
A carving of a griffon and rabbit, as seen in Ripon Cathedral, where Carroll's father was a canon, may have provided inspiration for the tale.

In the eighth chapter, three cards are painting the roses on a rose tree red, because they had accidentally planted a white-rose tree that The Queen of Hearts hates.
Red roses symbolised the English House of Lancaster, while white roses symbolised their rival House of York, thus the wars between them were the Wars of the Roses.

While the book has remained in print and continually inspires new adaptations, the cultural material from which it draws has become largely specialized knowledge.
Dr Leon Coward asserts the book 'suffers' from "readings which reflect today's fascination with postmodernism and psychology, rather than delving into an historically informed interpretation," and speculates that this has been partly driven by audiences encountering the narrative through a 'second-hand' source, explaining "our impressions of the original text are based on a multiplicity of reinterpretations.
We don't necessarily realise we're missing anything in understanding the original product, because we're usually never dealing with the original product."
Martin Gardner, along with other scholars, have shown the book to be filled with many parodies of Victorian popular culture, suggesting it belongs in spirit with W. S. Gilbert and Alfred Cellier's Topsyturveydom.
Most of the book's adventures may have been based on or influenced by people, situations, and buildings in Oxford and at Christ Church. For example, the "Rabbit Hole" symbolised the actual stairs in the back of the Christ Church's main hall. A carving of a griffon and rabbit, as seen in Ripon Cathedral, where Carroll's father was a canon, may have provided inspiration for the tale.
In the eighth chapter, three cards are painting the roses on a rose tree red, because they had accidentally planted a white-rose tree that The Queen of Hearts hates. Red roses symbolised the English House of Lancaster, while white roses symbolised their rival House of York, thus the wars between them were the Wars of the Roses.
While the book has remained in print and continually inspires new adaptations, the cultural material from which it draws has become largely specialized knowledge. Dr Leon Coward asserts the book 'suffers' from "readings which reflect today's fascination with postmodernism and psychology, rather than delving into an historically informed interpretation," and speculates that this has been partly driven by audiences encountering the narrative through a 'second-hand' source, explaining "our impressions of the original text are based on a multiplicity of reinterpretations. We don't necessarily realise we're missing anything in understanding the original product, because we're usually never dealing with the original product."
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland