Wonderful Background and Analysis, but no academic description

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	• The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition Lewis Carroll W. W. Norton & Company, 1999 - 312 pages average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Wonderful Background and Analysis, but no academic description

This book is a wonderful collection of both Alice books, accompanied by full annotations and examples of the original poems and concepts that many of the musings in the works are based on. Anyone who is interested in Alice, Wonderland, and/or the Looking-Glass should get this book, as it provides wonderful analysis and background of the author and the girl the protagonist is modeled after. It also explains some of the less obvious jokes by explaining their origins.

I also like how the annotations reference other works of analysis on Alice. There is also a list in the back of many Alice-related works sorted by category. This shows that a lot of effort was put into this book and its integrity.

Unfortunately, there are a few cons. If you are looking to buy this for assistance on a book report or project, I must warn you that the notes in this book aren't tailored for academic analysis, but more broad literary analysis. In other words; the symbols and motifs aren't as important to the author as the linguistic jokes, puns, and concepts are. Also, the wonderfully designed cover is really only a paper cover, something not discernible from the online picture.

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Down the Rabbit Hole with (a) Gardner

Ever wondered what the originals for the song parodies in the "Alice" books are? Or what famous person the rabbit, dutchess, or lion are supposed to look like in Tenniel's famous illustrations? Or why the dormouse is stuffed down the tea kettle? This--and much, much more--is answered in Gardner's wonderful book.

Gardner gives us the context--usually the Victorian proverb, song, person or mannerism needed to undestand the joke (or the illustration), or else the chess, boating, Latin, or logical term needed for the same purpose. (Victorian children kept a dormice in old tea kettle as pets.) He also gives us rough drafts of particularly striking or famous poems and illustrations from "Alice" (i.e., "Jabberwocky"), the lost "Wasp in the Wig" chapter cut out of "Through the Looking Glass", and much interesting biographical information about Carroll and Tenniel.

Gardner doesn't promote some lit-crit theory concerning Alice's alleged feminism, or pretends to write a history of Victorian England or a biography of Carroll. His goal is simply to make the reader enjoy "Alice" more by explaining the numerous jokes and references they previously (almost) certainly missed, or telling the reader more about the men who create "Alice" and how they came to do so.

In this he succeeds beyond all expectations. Though you've been reading and re-reading "Alice" for years, Gardner will show you there is a *lot* in it you never imagined existed. He achieves the annotator's supreme goal of making the book new again.

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Nice so far.

I haven't had the chance to delve deeply into this one yet, but I love the layout. The original story is in the middle and the notes are on the outside margins. They provide excellent insight into the depth of the story and the outside motivating factors.

Wonderful

I bought this to read with my 7yr old daughter, figuring it would entertain us both, and it has. Even if you've only a passing interest in why hatters would be mad in Victorian England (mercury poisoning), or answers to the many riddles Carroll poses, this book will have you reading footnote after footnote, and give new pleasure and insight into the books.

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reviews: 1, page 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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