I remember reading Alice in Wonderland as a child, not quite sure whether to be frightened or amazed at the strange adventures this little girl experiences. I think it was probably good that I didn’t know at the time that there really was a girl named Alice who inspired Lewis Carroll’s fantasy world. In Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin shares a fictionalized version of Alice’s life from the age of seven, when she met the man who would go on to write as Lewis Carroll, to old age. Benjamin has thoroughly researched th lives of both Alice Liddell and Charles Dodgson. She shares what is known of the truth and fills in the gaps with her own imaginings. This is a fascinating story of the mystery and love behind an infamous muse.