Douglas-Fairhurst's The Story of Alice belongs with the best books ever written in the field of Carrollian studies... For a total work of criticism, a scholarly Gesamtkunstwerk, The Story of Alice can't be beat. In it, Douglas-Fairhurst examines the tangled lives of Carroll and Alice Liddell (later Alice Hargreaves) up until the latter's death in 1934, while also tracking the publication history of the 'Alice' books, their popularity and their ongoing cultural influence. The Oxford don's own prose is, moreover, a delight to read: fact-filled, nicely balanced between exposition and quotation, confiding and witty. In fact, high among the pleasures of The Story of Alice is its willingness to amuse as well as instruct.–Michael Dirda "Washington Post" (6/11/2015 12:00:00 AM)