IN SEARCH OF HARRY POTTER – WHAT EVERY FAN SHOULD KNOW!
At the request of J.K. Rowling, the blockbuster Harry Potter films were set entirely in Britain. Many of the Hogwart’s School scenes were filmed at Oxford University, centered at one of Oxford’s most magnificent colleges, Christ Church. The historic locations used at the College included the setting for Hogwart’s staircase, where schoolchildren are greeted upon their arrival, the Great Hall, which became Hogwart’s dining room, and Oxford’s Bodleian Library, which provided the setting for Hogwart’s infirmary. Christ Church College, founded by Henry VIII in 1546, was also used by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) as the setting for his Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass books.
The Christ Church math professor, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), became good friends with the children of Christ Church Dean, Henry Liddell, in the 1850’s and 60’s. He was especially close to Alice Liddell, the Dean’s fourth child who became Carroll’s inspiration for his heroine, Alice in Wonderland. Carroll used Alice Liddell’s familiar surroundings as the setting for the story which he wrote for her in 1864. The Great Hall (Hogwart’s dining room), where Carroll ate his meals, holds many Wonderland secrets. It is believed that the real “rabbit hole” is the door that the Dean used to get to the senior common room. Henry Liddell himself is thought to be Carroll’s inspiration for the White Rabbit
C. M. Rubin’s and Gabriella’s Rubin’s bestselling book, The Real Alice In Wonderland, features stunning photographs of many of the same Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland locations which inspired these blockbuster books (and films). The Authors, who are descendants of the real Alice, spent time in Oxford as guests of the current Dean of Christ Church researching their book, and discovered how large a part the college played in not only the creation of the Harry Potter films, but also in the creation of the Alice in Wonderland books. The Rubins’ story behind the story takes readers to many other Oxford locations, including Alice’s garden at Christ Church, the original Cheshire Cat tree, the river banks where Carroll was urged to create his story by Alice, and to the Oxford museums to view the many Wonderland treasures held there today.
Authors Gabriella and C.M. Rubin doing research at Christ Church.
A visit and tour of Oxford town and Christ Church College is a must for fans of Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland, but first you can discover many of the sights and wonders in C. M. Rubin’s and Gabriella Rubin’s book, The Real Alice in Wonderland, on sale in bookstores nationally.
Look Inside The Real Alice Book
