Liddell house

 

Liddell house
Location	Oxford
First appearance	* Prologue [AMA] Chapter 5 [AMR]
Series	* American McGee's Alice Alice: Madness Returns
Image gallery (14)

The Liddell house was the Liddell family house in the city of Oxford, which was burned down in the fire that killed Arthur Liddell, his wife, and their eldest daughter Elizabeth on 5 November 1863. It left Alice as the sole survivor of the incident and the trauma led to her incarceration at Rutledge Asylum. She is haunted by various apparitions of her home, and a variety of it appeared in Wonderland.

History

American McGee's Alice

The Liddell house was seen in Alice's memory, showing the events of the fire, including the aftermath regarding Rutledge Asylum. In the Land of Fire and Brimstone, a vision of the house seemingly unharmed was present, however, the interior of the house was still burning and falling apart. The Jabberwock had taken it as his own home and lair, mocking Alice through this residence.

Alice: Madness Returns

One of the doors in Alice's memories.

Alice's house was remembered in crucial Memories represented by a door with flames behind it. In these memories, the real reasons behind the fire was uncovered, as well as the true perpetrator. The memories of Alice's family were also represented by miniature, pearly versions of the house. When Alice visited a hallucination of Hyde Park, she saw the house on fire. Upon approaching it, Alice was transported to the Dollhouse.

Appearance

An outside view of Alice's home in the middle of the Land of Fire and Brimstone.

The Liddell house was a fairly large home, fitting enough for a family of four. It was a two-story building with enough space for an attic. The front white wooden door was decorated with a large four-piece panel and appeared to have a stone base with a wooden deck. The second floor was paneled with white, while the roof was a dark brown color with several spikes at several edges.

Residents and creatures

• Alice Liddell
• Arthur Liddell
• Dinah
• Jabberwock (Land of Fire and Brimstone)
• Lizzie Liddell
• Mrs. Liddell

Trivia

• In American McGee's Alice, the house does not appear to have any surroundings other than the rocks it lays upon. It also demonstrates that there is little greenery around the house, including the tree Alice supposedly climbed out of. In the opening of the game, Alice is seen laying on the ground as if she has fallen. This is another suggestive hint that Alice's memories could have faded even slightly during her time with Dr. Bumby or that it was another product of her overactive imagination, similar to the idea that she saw centaurs on the night of the fire.
• As Alice progresses Alice: Madness Returns, a 2D cutscene plays involving memories of her home. All the locks in her home are different, and each key is designed differently. Another key will be added to Alice's keyring per chapter. The keys represent Alice unlocking and discovering more about her family's past, so her home acts as a gateway to truth.

Alice seeing the floating house.

• There is art of the house in The Art of Alice: Madness Returns of Alice seeing her house on fire floating, with her family waving to her.
• In the beta trailer of Madness Returns, the house is seen burning in London.
• Some slight differences in the Liddell house between the two games are: the double doors in Alice instead a single door in Madness Returns, her speculation of the nights, and the porch being aligned to the left side of the house in Alice, rather than being aligned to the right in Madness Returns.
  • The discrepancies between the house in American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns could be canonically justified since the exterior of the house seen in the games are always in Alice's mental mind, and it would make sense for her mental image of the house to be different.