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Alice in Wonderland

Name: Alice in Wonderland
Author: Lewis Carroll
ISBN: 9780393932348

by Lewis Carroll, Donald J. Gray (Editor)

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Overview

Newly discovered letters by Lewis Carroll, an expanded selection of diary excerpts, and a wealth of new biographical materials are some of the features of this revised Norton Critical Edition.

This perennially popular Norton Critical Edition again reprints the 1897 editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass along with the 1876 edition of The Hunting of the Snark. Each text is fully annotated and the original illustrations are included.

An unusually rich “Backgrounds” section is arranged to correspond with three clearly defined periods in Lewis Carroll’s life. Letters and diary entries interwoven within each period emphasize the biographical dimension of Carroll’s writing. Readers gain an understanding of the author’s family and education, the evolution of the Alice books, and Carroll’s later years through his own words and through important scholarly work on his faith life and his relationships with women and with Alice Hargreaves and her family.

Reflecting the wealth of new scholarship on Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll published since the last edition, Donald Gray has chosen eleven new critical works while retaining five seminal works from the previous edition. Two early pieces—an essay by Charles Dickens and poem by Christina Rossetti—take a satirical look at children’s literature. The nine new recent essays are by James R. Kincaid, Marah Gubar, Robert M. Polemus, Jean-Jacques Lecercle, Gilles Deleuze, Roger Taylor, Carol Mavor, Jean Gattégno, and Helena M. Pycior.

The Selected Bibliography has been updated and expanded.

One of the most beloved classics in children's literature, Lewis Carroll's tale follows Alice into the nonsensical world of Wonderland where she attends the tea party of the Mad Hatter and plays croquet in the court of the Queen of Hearts.

Synopsis

This perennially popular Norton Critical Edition again reprints the 1897 editions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass along with the 1876 edition of The Hunting of the Snark. Each text is fully annotated and the original illustrations are included.

An unusually rich "Backgrounds" section is arranged to correspond with three clearly defined periods in Lewis Carroll's life. Letters and diary entries interwoven within each period emphasize the biographical dimension of Carroll's writing. Readers gain an understanding of the author's family and education, the evolution of the Alice books, and Carroll's later years through his own words and through important scholarly work on his faith life and his relationships with women and with Alice Hargreaves and her family.

Reflecting the wealth of new scholarship on Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll published since the last edition, Donald Gray has chosen eleven new critical works while retaining five seminal works from the previous edition. Two early pieces--an essay by Charles Dickens and poem by Christina Rossetti--take a satirical look at children's literature. The nine new recent essays are by James R. Kincaid, Marah Gubar, Robert M. Polemus, Jean-Jacques Lecercle, Gilles Deleuze, Roger Taylor, Carol Mavor, Jean Gattégno, and Helena M. Pycior.

The Selected Bibliography has been updated and expanded.

About the Author, Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the pen name of Oxford mathematician, logician, photographer and author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, is famous the world over for his fantastic classics Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Hunting of the Snark, Jabberwocky, and Sylvie and Bruno.

Donald Gray is Professor of English at Indiana University. He is the editor of the Norton Critical Edition of Alice in Wonderland, and of the anthology Victorian Poetry.

Biography

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was a man of diverse interests -- in mathematics, logic, photgraphy, art, theater, religion, medicine, and science. He was happiest in the company of children for whom he created puzzles, clever games, and charming letters.

As all Carroll admirers know, his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), became an immediate success and has since been translated into more than eighty languages. The equally popular sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, was published in 1872.

The Alice books are but one example of his wide ranging authorship. The Hunting of the Snark, a classic nonsense epic (1876) and Euclid and His Modern Rivals, a rare example of humorous work concerning mathematics, still entice and intrigue today's students. Sylvie and Bruno, published toward the end of his life contains startling ideas including an 1889 description of weightlessness.

The humor, sparkling wit and genius of this Victorian Englishman have lasted for more than a century. His books are among the most quoted works in the English language, and his influence (with that of his illustrator, Sir John Tenniel) can be seen everywhere, from the world of advertising to that of atomic physics.

Author biography courtesy of Penguin Group (USA).

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

A pensive, titian-haired Alice trips down the rabbit hole in this adaptation that pairs the classic story with gracefully expressive illustrations. Ingpen’s detailed visions of the menagerie of creatures Alice meets lend them anthropomorphic qualities while remaining anatomically precise. The Cheshire cat, who peers out at Alice from a crowd of leaves with a milk-tooth smile, does so with kittenish serenity. The infamous tea-party is a cozy affair with intimate soft-focus portraits in pencil of the sleepy dormouse, hare (who dips his watch into his cup of tea) and the rather bleary Mad Hatter, whose pencil-drawn sidewise glances suggest it’s all dreamy good fun. A lovely and faithful interpretation. Ages 10–up. (Nov.)

Children's Literature - Kathie M. Josephs

Alice is sitting with her sister and grows tired of doing absolutely nothing. While her sister reads, Alice picks some daisies when she sees a white Rabbit dressed in a waistcoat. The rabbit is holding a watch worrying that he is going to be late. Alice follows the rabbit and falls down the rabbit hole. In this new, strange place, Alice experiences many adventures. Unfortunately, these adventures are not happy ones but are more like nightmares. This world is called Wonderland and has very crazy creatures. She meets the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar, and the Cheshire Cat. When she meets the Queen, she is invited to play a game of croquet, but, when the Queen shows her wicked side, Alice's life greatly changes. How will she be able to find her way back to the home she came from? Are there any creatures that live in Wonderland who can help her, and if so, how will she find them? At the end of the book, the author includes information on the main characters, Lewis Carroll, the retelling author, and the illustrator. There is also a glossary. This is a good book to use when introducing chapter books. Books written in graphic format are favorites of mine. They make it just the thing for students who are reluctant readers and never seem to finish a book on their own. They are also a wonderful way to introduce a variety of genres to young people. Young readers who want to read anything they can get their hands on will enjoy the graphics and fast-paced text. The full-color graphics make an enormous impact on the story. Reviewer: Kathie M. Josephs

Children's Literature - Meredith Kiger

This interesting book of critical essays is part of a series created by Dr. Bloom to accompany his "Great Books" studies. Bloom suggests that a liberal education should include the study of 100 of the greatest books ever written. They are the basis of this series and are listed in the beginning of the book. There is some debate, of course, on what are the 100 greatest books. This edition about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland includes 12 critical essays by well-known authors such as J.B. Priestly, Phyllis Greenacre, and Florence Baker Lennon. The authors attempt to categorize Carroll's famous children's novel in terms of thematic content, particular elements such as fantasy or love and death, and his use of poetry. The essays make for challenging and interesting reading, but as even Dr. Bloom admits, "Carroll's genre evades every definition." Carroll's use of nonsense is an English tradition not easily explained, and continues, thank goodness, as evidenced in many Beatles songs and Monty Python performances. Differing from folk tales in its lack of clear moral lessons, Alice's reading remains an exercise in the kind of childlike fun that leaves one thrilled and a bit apprehensive at the same time. The book includes an afterthought by Dr. Bloom, comparing the "Alice" books to modern children's stories such as the "Harry Potter" books; a chronology of the life of Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll); an extensive bibliography; brief vita on the authors of the essays; and an index.

Originally released in 1865, this book is a timeless classic. This edition, illustrated by Ralph Steadman, which first came out in 1968 but has been out of print for a long time making it somewhat of a rarity, has been carefully restored. Carroll's ironic tale, with the familiar cast of characters (Alice, the White Rabbit, the Dodo, the White Hare, the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, the Hatter, the Queen and King, the Mock Turtle, the Gryphon). takes on a bizarre life of its own with Steadman's black and white illustrations. Children who have been accustomed to the Disney version of this classic will be curious, confused yet amazed by what they read and see in this book (perhaps some adults as well). Steadman also created the hand carved wood cuts that make the title and chapter numbers. The illustrator started his career as a children's book illustrator and cartoonist in 1956 and since then has had his distinctive drawings in print internationally. Recommended. 2003, Firefly Books, Ages 8 up.
— Cindy L. Carolan

Gr 4–8—Matthews, well known for his work in sci-fi and fantasy realms, turns his attention to Carroll's classic. His illustrations, which vary between single- and double-page full-color airbrushed paintings and smaller sepia-toned vignettes, have an imagination-stretching, otherworldly veneer. Rich in purple and green hues, the cartoon artwork portrays an Alice with a somewhat angular face and straight blond hair. The depictions of the other characters are fresh and creative, as each familiar figure is festooned with delightfully exaggerated features, kinetic lines, and jewel-toned costuming. The paintings have a fine-art quality to them, and the grandiose scenes provide much detail and action for readers to explore and enjoy. Card-suit motifs appear in both the handsome book design and within the illustrations themselves. Unfortunately, some of the double-page artwork gets lost in the book's gutter. Matthews admits to suggesting "a wider visual arena for the story, including a space scene and the Palace of Hearts (not mentioned by Carroll)." The consistency of artistic vision and quality of the illustrations make this re-interpretation a success. The small-size type, which may demand more accomplished or patient readers, and the sophisticated visual tone make this volume appropriate for older Alice fans.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

North Shore News - Terry Peters

A world where people fall down rabbit holes and confront talking caterpillars is a place where Steadman would feel comfortable. An interesting look at the artist at an earlier stage in his own artistic approach.

[Steadman's drawings] are still remarkably fresh and unique.

Don't count on a bookful of sweet, charming etchings of the shrinking golden girl; this is a somewhat less flattering Alice than the one we've come to know and expect. In over 40 pen and ink illustrations, this Wonderland is more tempestuous; of greater, grittier (and funnier) distortion... when dangerous satirists like Steadman exercise their imaginations and lyric, delirious pens in the slivers and shards of a distorted world -- look out.

Ferocious Steadman spin.

Victoria Times-Colonist - Liz Pogue

Sophisticated humor

Denver Post - Clair Martin

Pair[s] a perpetually suspicious Alice with peculiar creatures that well warrant her chariness.

San Diego Union-Tribune - David Elliott

Explosive ink drawings... acidic whimsies splash across pages, bringing dear Alice a newly stimulating cup of tea.

Seattle Times - Mary Ann Gwinn

Carroll's hall-of-mirrors children's tale and Steadman's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" style make for an eerily perfect fit.

Waterbury Republican-American - Betsy Daley

Alice as you've rarely seen her... fun for all ages... full of the wit and wisdom Carroll originally gave us.

Children's Literature - Leona Illig

This chapter book adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic novel adheres to the original plot fairly closely. Alice, who is bored while sitting on a riverbank with her sister, falls asleep and has a remarkable series of dreams which begin with Alice running after the White Rabbit and falling down a rabbit hole. Once through the hole, she finds that whenever she drinks or eats certain things she either shrinks or grows taller, creating considerable turmoil. Her fantastic adventures include swimming out of her own pool of tears; outgrowing a house she finds herself inside; attending a mad tea party; playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts; and finding herself at the center of a trial of the Knave of Hearts, who is accused of stealing tarts. A great deal of Carroll's original language is preserved, and some drawings by his illustrator, John Tenniel, are included. Because the current adaptation is so short, however, the charm of the original is lost. Carroll's humor, word play, puns, and even characterizations are mostly missing as the story simply summarizes one adventure after another. The focus on plot poses some problems, as many children today may find the story too nonsensical, or, worse yet, boring. Children who are already familiar with the story and who are reading chapter books may enjoy it. Nevertheless, introducing children to the classic Walt Disney movie first and then letting them read (or hear their parents read) Carroll's original book later on is likely to be a more rewarding experience. Children who read this adaptation and then never seek out the original will have been robbed of one of literature's greatest pleasures. Reviewer: Leona Illig