“If something is there, you can only see it with your eyes open,
but if it isn’t there, you can see it just as well with your eyes closed.
That is why imaginary things are often easier to see than real ones.”
Norton Juster
“Rêverie”, L. 68 (Arr. for Orchestra) (Instrumental) by Claude Debussy, performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra (courtesy of Habichiwoowoo):
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all, that is really
worth the doing, is what we do for others.”
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
“Préludes Book 1: No. 8, La fille aux cheveux de lin” by Claude Debussy, performed by Yuri Serov (courtesy of Naxos Music):
Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
1832 – 1898
When Oxford mathematics lecturer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson went picnicking one summer day with his Dean’s three children, he spun a little tale that he added to on subsequent occasions. The girls liked it so much that the middle child, Alice, who was Dodgson’s favourite, asked him to write it down, and so he did, calling it “Alice Adventures in Underground.” It is the wildly inventive story of a young girl who, feeling bored one afternoon in a meadow, follows a talking rabbit (dressed in a waistcoat and consulting a pocket watch) into a rabbit hole. Down she falls to a very strange place, where she is entangled in a string of “curiouser and curiouser” adventures none of which make any sense at all, yet it was described at the time as “the most enchanting nonsense in the English language.”
Courtesy of The Cogito:
“The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-natured, she thought: still it had very long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt that it ought to be treated with respect.”
Taking pills and drinking potions, she shrinks and grows, swims across a pool of her own tears, and meets one of the most fascinating and unforgettable casts of characters ever concocted: the Caterpillar and the Dodo, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts.
Courtesy of Life Is A Story:
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
The Queen of Hearts: “Off with her head!”
Free of any moralising or didacticism of any kind, Dodgson’s narrative floats freely on the intoxicating air of his whimsy and wordplay.
“Reverie” by John Williams:
The real Alice who inspired Lewis Carroll’s book.
Three years after Alice Liddell asked him to write it down, Dodgson’s book was published with the title changed to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the author’s name disguised as Lewis Carroll. The year was 1865. In the sequel Through the Looking Glass, Alice joins a game on a giant chessboard, discovers the poem “Jabberwocky,” and encounters Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and other characters appeared in 1872.
Carroll’s characters have taken root in our collective imagination like few other literary creations. Perhaps of its nonsensical pedigree, it has proved to be an addictive pleasure for readers attracted by the rich mix of frivolities, hallucinatory happenings, logical puzzles, and keen adult observations. Carroll’s imagery, phrases, and characters have not only been attached to myriad toys and games but continue to enliven the language in everything from rock and roll lyrics to ordinary conversation. Most remarkably, although the Alice books date from the nineteenth century and are as engrained in our culture as any stories ever told, they remain as fresh as the day they were written, delighting new readers every day of every year. There have been many film adaptations made of Alice’s adventures and many more will be made.
Courtesy of kingedmundpevensie:
“Only A Dream” by Danny Elfman (from Alice in Wonderland score):
Here is an extract from Alice in Wonderland:
“Oh, I’ve had such a curious dream,” said Alice, and she told her sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had finished, her sister kissed her, and said, ‘It was a curious dream, certainly; but now run in to your tea: it’s getting late.’ So Alice got up and ran off thinking while she ran, as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been.
But her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on her hand, watching the setting sun, and thinking of little Alice and all her wonderful Adventures, till she too began dreaming after a fashion, and this was her dream –
First, she dreamed of little Alice herself, and once again the tiny hands were clasped upon her knee, and the bright eager eyes were looking up into hers – she could hear the very tones of her voice and see that queer little toss of her head to keep back the wandering hair that would always get into her eyes – and still as she listened, or seem to listen, the whole place around her became alive with the strange creatures of her little sister’s dream.
The Duchess and the Pig-Baby
The long grass rustled at her feet as the White Rabbit hurried by – the frightened Mouse splashed his way through the neighbouring pool – she could hear the rattle of the teacups as the March Hare and his friends shared their never-ending meal, and the shrill voice of the Queen ordering off her unfortunate guests to execution – once more the pig-baby was sneezing on the Duchess’s knee, while plates and dishes crashed around it – once more the shriek of the Gryphon, the squeaking of the Lizard’s slate-pencil, and the choking of the suppressed guinea-pigs, filled the air, mixed up with the distant sobs of the miserable Mock Turtle.
So she sat on with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again and all would change to dull reality – the grass would only be rustling in the wind, and the pool rippling to the waving of the reeds – the rattling teacups would change to the tinkling sheep bells, and the Queen’s shrill cries to the voice of the shepherd boy – and the sneeze of the baby, the shriek of the Gryphon, and all the other queer noises, would change (she knew) to the confused clamour of the busy farmyard – while the lowing cattle in the distance would take place of the Mock Turtle’s heavy sobs.
Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown-up woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood; and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago; and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.”
Courtesy of Pogo:
To assist in exploring Wonderland (courtesy of David Day Books):
naturetails 
Very interesting selections from the books to share with us. Excellent job, Joanna.
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Joanna, Alice in Wonderland is definitely one of those amazing classics that we still love to this day. 🤗 You covered this book by sharing some amazing highlights from it. Thanks so much for sharing your research with us my dear! Have a wonderful weekend. 🥰💖😘
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thank you for the great inspiration of all that you have gathered here about alice in wonderland, truly bringing it alive to me!🙏🏼❤️well done!🙏🏼👍🏼🥰
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Thank you for your kind comments! Your words are greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you, Kym, for your generous comments. All are greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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Thank you, Pat, for your kind comments! As I loved the imagination of this book, it was a pleasure to include it in my series. More to follow…
Joanna
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Nice to have something to look forward to.
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I enjoyed this so much. I loved Alice as a child and still think virtual worlds are just a modern version of the looking glass. Thank you for putting this post together.
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Don’t we all wish there was a wonderland? It was probably Lewis Carroll who put the idea in my head. As children one of our annual treats was being taken to the Pantomime which I remember as a performance on ice. One year it was Alice in Wonderland and I think we also saw Alice through the Looking Glass. At school we did our own performance. My mother made a costume for me out of grey satin. It had a big red heart on the front because I was the knave of hearts. I stole the tarts! The beginning and end of my acting career. Of course it was all those wonderful animals that appealed to me but I loved the idea of fantasy and look how it has lasted through the years. I did not know how very involved the story was. David Day’s book sounds fascinating. I think our Universe really is all about math. Another great presentation Joanna. Always so entertaining.
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You are so very welcome Joanna. Great post my friend. 😊👏🏼😘💖🤗 Enjoy your weekend!
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Another jewel from the old which keeps glittering through the ages. So much joy , learning emotions to read your efforts Jonna. Thanks for being such an amazing person and sharing the precious preservations to the world. Loves n respects ❣🙏🙏
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Thank you, Dear Suma, for your wonderful comments! I cherish your words and greatly appreciate them!
Joanna
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Thank you, Carolyn, for your lovely comments and your memories! The universe, music, and practically everything else are about maths as a science that rules our world. I think certain books became classics because their magic stays with us forever,
Thank you, Carolyn, again, greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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Thank you, Karima, for your kind comments! Greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you, Pat! You are very kind, as always, that is why Buddy loves you.
Joanna
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Always my sweet pleasure Sisa..❤
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Thankyou!
Joanna xxx
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This is a mesmerising tale! There’s always an element of surprise and some hidden treasure!
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‘Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was an Oxford mathematics lecturer’: Now where else have I read something similar recently? 😊 I suppose growing up as a boy, Alice in Wonderland didn’t quite have the same appeal to me as say, Treasure Island, and I never followed the story properly. I know the characters and the outline story of course, but the way you’ve described it to us Joanna wants me to delve deeper into it. You’ve got a real knack of encouraging people into your world of books. Tonight, I’m seriously thinking of renting the film with Johnny Depp in it. Do you recommend it?
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Thank you, Malc, for your lovely and entertaining comments! I do recommend the version you are planning to see as it is as wild as the book, but if possible, it is always good to see more than one film to get the hidden depts of the original story.
I have every DVD of The Christmas Carol, and that is how I found the best one.
I have one more thing to add; both my daughters, Jo and Sam, read chemistry at Christ Church, a special college, the only one with its own cathedral, well worth your time to go and see it. I was once invited to a wine party at the dean’s house, as a mother of Samantha, where in the garden is the tree under which Alice’s stories were created. I could almost see the greening cat in the trees’ branches!
Joanna
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My cat, not the greening one interrupted my reply, and I feel compelled to send you a big thank you!
Joanna
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Another wonderful story you can tell Joanna. I did visit the colleges of Oxford pror to the digital age. I’ve probably got some prints or transparencies of them somewhere but I can’t remember if Christ Church was amongst them. I’ve a feeling it was but I wouldn’t have had a parent’s eye view of it though. I’ll need to go rummaging now 🙂
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LOL 🙂 You’re welcome Joanna.
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Thank you, Harshi, for you kind comment. Greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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I love the cathedral and Christ’s Church not only because of the connection with HenryVIII but the sarcophagi of the knight with his feet on the dog, a symbol of loyalty.
You can see this in my old post about the explorers (Kew Garden). Every time I am in the cathedral, I gently stroke the dog who has been keeping vigil for centuries…
Joanna
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Yet another amazing post Joanna, showing us the wonders of another classic with lovely photos, music, and snippets, to enchant us. Thank you.
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Thank you, Peter, for your generous comment! Greatly appreciated! With a comment like yours, it is a pleasure working on it.
Joanna
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Thank you, Joanna, for choosing Alice for this Saturday’s post. This is one of the most successful children’s books of all times, and more than 150 years later, it’s read with the same interest. I love the phrase you used for this book, the most enchanting nonsense in the English language, but the fact remains that it still enchants people around the globe.
I like the way this book has depicted a child’s struggle to survive in the confusing world of adults, right from going down a rabbit hole to growing and shrinking experiences. The tears forming a sea reminds me of an Urdu couplet that I once shared.
It is surprising that a mathematician wrote such a wonderful classic. Your videos, as always, enhance the beauty of your post. Thanks Joanna, for another great post this Saturday.
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It’s been such a long time since I read this book and your review here has just got me itching to turn the pages again! It is an incredible story and one that will last for ever. Now where is my copy?
Thank you, Joanna, for reminding me to read again this amazing book! 💓🌹💌🌸🌷🙋♂️
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Thank you, Ashley, for your lovely and witty comment! Nothing gives me more satisfaction then the knowledge I have done my job well, thank you!
Joanna
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Thank you, Kaushal, for your wonderful comments! As I wrote in another reply, my both daughters read chemistry at Christ Church and I was once invited to the deanery as a mother of an alumna. There, in the garden, I saw the famous tree under which the stories of Alice were created. What is the Urdu couplet, if I may ask? Thank you again, Kaushal, your words are greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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A lovely little peek at a book that changed literature and gave us a timeless story!
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I was totally captivated by your post.
Descriptions, selections from the book, images and music made it superlative
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Thank you, Luisa, for your wonderful comments! All greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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You are so welcome, dear Joanna
Have a wonderful weekend
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You’re welcome, Joanna! You’re fortunate enough to see that iconic tree. As regards couplet, here is its English translation:
I had accumulated some tears
shed from my eyes,
but people have
unnecessarily named it a sea…”
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Thank you, Kaushal, and the couplet is perfect for the story in the book!
Joanna
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Always my pleasure!
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Appreciated!
Joanna
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Thank you for sharing such a classic Joanna and I especially like the reminder in the quote “One of the deep secrets of life is that all, that is really
worth the doing, is what we do for others.” Charles Lutw.
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Thank you, Henrietta, for your kind comments, and for pointing out my mantra in the quote you liked.
Joanna
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The first video of Claude Debussy’s “Rêverie” (composed in 1890) depicts several images of the artist Maxfield Parrish who was born in Philadelphia in 1870. There were also many scenes reminiscent of the area around Cornish, NH on the
Connecticut River. This makes composer and artist contemporaries and the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra played the music in the video. I wonder if there was some connection to the Cornish Colony of Artists who summered at what is now the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park so near to my home. Parrish had a home there (The Oaks). Did Debussy visit? Alice did cry out “Curioser and curioser” in her distorted adventure! This coincidences make me feel that way as well.
For a math professor, Mr. Dodgson (aka Lewis Carrol) certainly had a marvelous imagination. Well, could his study have involved higher math which encouraged departure from day to day reality? Or was he inclined to imbibe “pills and potions” which he ascribed to Alice? In any event his “whimsy and wordplay” is a style which would be attractive to most children. And in viewing this blog I see that you, Joanna, are also captured by fantasy found in different media. Where or where do you find this material for your blog posts. Once again, you have masterminded a blog which boggles the mind!
After watching the video (twice and then searching references which Day makes) about the decoding of Alice in Wonderland, I needed to rethink much of my assessment of this fantasy. Who knew that Dodson the mathematician was also a minister, photographer and teacher? And that the Cheshire cat was a creation born of rabbit reproduction, wordplay and the mathematics of the Catenary Curve! As David Day says, reading is a creative experience! And so is writing a book which take two decades to complete. I hope that decoding this “tangled tale of Wonderlands 7 levels” didn’t remove the mystery and fantasy of the book for Mr. Day. This book is quite cerebral – far from my memory of “Alice” as just a fantasy. Stewart
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Such a lovely and enlightening post – and your two selections by Debussy fit perfectly! Thanks so much, Joanna. 🙂❤️🌺
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Thank you so much for your kind comments! All are greatly appreciated.
Joanna
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You are most welcome. 🙂🌺
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Thank you so much, Stewart, for your analytical comments! You were right to alert me to the possibility that your words were in the spam, as that is where I found your comments. Thank you again, Stewart, your word are deeply appreciated. Did you see my comments about your visit to New York, and the Full Moon picture?
Joanna
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Yes, I did see your comment on Hudson River Bridges and the full moon welcoming us home! I did reply to your comment on my blog site. Stewart
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Thank you!
Joanna
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JoAnna, Long ago I read the book, and I watched a couple of movies made from it with my older daughter while she was growing up. Thank you for this post, which allows me to appreciate Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland on a much different level.
As usual, I learned a lot from your post, even though I still feel there is much more to understand. Perhaps I should start with viewing the movie with Johnny Depp. Maybe I will see it with new eyes! Thank you, JoAnna for helping to expand knowledge and understanding in your rich and beautiful blogs! ❤
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Thank you, Cheryl, for your kind comments! Seeing an adaptation of the book will be helpful.
Thank you, greatly appreciated!
Joanna
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