Alice in Wonderland was written by Lewis Carrol, the pseudonym of a maths professor called Charles Lutwidge Dodson. There is a famous story of Queen Victoria, having read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, ordering her courtiers to bring her everything that Lewis Carroll had written, only to receive a pile of mathematical papers! Suffice it to say that there are a lot of mathematical puzzles hidden in his work, so that beneath the apparently delightful, nonsensical surface of his books there are hidden depths. (This is more apprent in the sequel 'Through the Looking Glass' than Alice, with its references to chess).
Alice in Wonderland is that rarity - a children's book that can be read on many levels. It has brilliantly crafted nonsense poetry, of which "the mouse's tale" - a beautiful shape poem in the shape of a mouse's tail, "Jabberwocky" - brilliant verbal fireworks - revelling in the enjoyment of playing with the English language for the sake of it, and the Walrus and the Carpenter (from 'Through the Looking Glass') are probably the most famous examples.
The central character of Alice represents childish playfulness and rebelliousness. Many of the "evil" characters in the book are drawn from the nightmarish world of Victorian governesses and teachers - the Red Queen could easily be a horrible, bossy nanny, for example.
One of the strengths of the book is the way that Carroll can get into the head of a child and invent the most ludicrous characters and storylines. This is not a book to be taken seriously and it invites the reader to suspend their disbelief completely. However, if you just want to wallow in childish delights, then this book is for you.
As such, the story is fairly immaterial, I think. It is a stock fairy tale, with monsters and a heroine, with quests and an exciting finale. The beauty of this book is not in the plot or the content, but in the way the action whizzes along and enjoyment of the imagination and verbal dexterity which resulted in the magic that is Alice.
The book was developed from stories which Carroll read aloud to Alice and her sisters to while away a boat trip. You can tell that this book is made to be read aloud, due to the sheer enjoyment of wordplay and sounds. This is the perfect, classic bedtime read for people of whatever age!
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Dec 12th, 2006
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