A book that you’ll find on a lot of recommended reading
lists is “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. Like most people,
I’ve been familiar with this story for most of my life, but I’d never read the
actual book, which is why I put it on my bucket list a couple of years ago. I
started reading it on Jan. 25, and finished it Wednesday of last week.
The edition of the book that I read was a 264-page volume
published by Wordsworth Classics in 1993 and titled “Alice in Wonderland.” That
book contained “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and its sequel, “Through the
Looking-Glass.” That edition also contained dozens of classic illustrations by
Sir John Tenniel.
For those of you unfamiliar with “Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland,” it was originally published in 1865 and tells the bizarre story of
a young girl named Alice, who chases a white rabbit down a hole and into a
fantastical world populated by such characters as Tweedledee, Tweedledum, the
Mad Hatter, the Red Queen and the Cheshire Cat. “Through the Looking-Glass” was
published in 1872. The book also contained the classic poems “The Jabberwocky”
and “The Walrus and the Carpenter.”
According to “The Writer’s Almanac,” Carroll, whose real
name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was 24 years old when “a new dean arrived at
the school where Carroll worked, and the dean brought his three daughters,
Lorina Charlotte, Edith, and Alice. Carroll befriended the three girls and
began spending a lot of time with them. In July of 1862, while floating in a
rowboat on a pond, he came up with the story of a girl's adventures in a
magical world underground, and told it to the three girls. Alice begged him to
write the stories down, and a few months later, he did.”
As mentioned, you’ll find “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
on a number of recommended reading list. Among these is Easton Press’ list of
“100 Greatest Books Ever Written,” where “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” was
ranked No. 77. Fans of the show “LOST” will also know that some characters on
that show could be seen reading it, and it also played a prominent part in the
classic Jack the Ripper graphic novel, “From Hell.”
“Alice in Wonderland” has been adapted in movies and on
television numerous times, but arguably the best known is Disney’s 1951
animated film version. I can’t honestly say that I’ve watched that entire movie
either, but like most folks, I’ve seen bits and pieces of it over the years, if
not the entire thing. Maybe I should put that on my bucket list for next year.
A more recent adaptation of the movie is 2010’s “Alice in
Wonderland,” which was directed by Tim Burton. That movie starred Johnny Depp,
Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. It was also a Disney production.
In the end, how many of you have read “Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Let us know
in the comments section below.
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