Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
Lewis Carroll1871Carroll blew up the idea that children's books had to teach a lesson.
Read this if you…
- want a book that is best described as "playful"
- want a book that is suitable for children (although its much more difficult than modern childrens books)
- care more about spirit and invention than plot
Skip this if you…
- don't care about wordplay and puns and overall goofiness
- want a really good plot (plot is more a vessel for playful writing)
Why It Matters
Carroll blew up the idea that children's books had to teach a lesson. The Alice books are pure nonsense turned into art, full of logic puzzles, wordplay, and dream logic that fed into surrealism, the philosophy of language, and every odd children's book since. They're also a mathematician quietly taking apart Victorian certainty.
The 
Take
Just a wonderful playful spirit. The story is lacking. The wordplay and poems were fun, but not quite spectacular, but the spirit carried it
Depicted in Art
The King and Queen of Hearts enthroned in court as the Knave stands trial; the full Wonderland cast assembles around the throne.
John Tenniel, 1865
Alice standing beneath a tree, looking up at the Cheshire Cat as it grins down at her from the branch above.
John Tenniel, 1865
Alice at the long disordered tea-table with the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and the Dormouse, all crowded at one corner around a clutter of cups and saucers.
John Tenniel, 1890
Humpty Dumpty perched precariously on his narrow wall, broad cravat and folded arms, lecturing Alice on the meanings of words.
John Tenniel, 1871
A long-haired Alice in flowing nightgown swims through a sea of tears alongside the Mouse, treated as a misty Art Nouveau watercolor.
Arthur Rackham, 1907
Alice climbing onto the mantelpiece and pushing through the silvering mirror, half in the parlor and half in the mirror-world beyond.
John Tenniel, 1871
The long table set in a wooded clearing with Alice, the Hatter, the March Hare and the sleeping Dormouse — Rackham's Edwardian color plate of the most famous scene.
Arthur Rackham, 1907
The White Rabbit in waistcoat and frock coat, pocket watch in hand, mid-stride and fretting about being late.
John Tenniel, 1865
Alice meets the two identical fat schoolboy brothers in their wood, embroidered collars labelled 'DUM' and 'DEE'.
John Tenniel, 1871
The white-haired Father William standing on his head, watched by his disapproving young interlocutor — Carroll's parody-poem made flesh.
John Tenniel, 1865
Recommended Editions
Penguin Classics
2009
Hugh Haughton's Penguin packs in both books and decodes the math jokes, parodies, and Oxford in-jokes Carroll buried everywhere. You stop thinking Alice is whimsical and start seeing how dense it actually is.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“Off with her head!”
“we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.”