The Best of Lewis Carroll

by Lewis Carroll, John Tenniel (Illustrator), Henry Holiday (Illustrator)

Children and adults alike have never grown tired of the exciting and fantastical adventures of master story-teller Lewis Carroll. Lavishly illustrated, here are his finest works, including Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Hunting of the Snark, A Tangled Tale, Phantasmagoria, and Nonsense from Letters.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Classics, Poetry, Childrens, Literature, Anthologies

440 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2012

About the author

The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican clergyman and photographer.

His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all considered to be within the genre of literary nonsense.

Oxford scholar, Church of England Deacon, University Lecturer in Mathematics and Logic, academic author of learned theses, gifted pioneer of portrait photography, colourful writer of imaginative genius and yet a shy and pedantic man, Lewis Carroll stands pre-eminent in the pantheon of inventive literary geniuses.

He also has works published under his real name.

Reviews

[Natalia Bas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libros recomendados: ‘’Alicia en el País de las Maravillas’’, de Lewis Carroll. (Y otras obras). Obras Selectas, EDIMAT. Fantasía, clásicos, juvenil, infantil…

¿Quién no conoce a Alicia?...

Del autor se han contado muchas cosas: sobre su sexualidad, o no; sobre el posible asesino que pudo ser… pero yo me quedo con sus cuentos.

Alicia en el País de las Maravillas es, sin duda, el mejor.

Opino que su narración, para algunos ilógica, tiene muchísima lógica; pero hay que estar dispuesto a entender. Su gracia es que nada parece tener sentido, porque la imaginación aliada con los sueños, provocan esa especie de magia. Aunque quizás sólo algunos muchos podamos entender lo que las, a veces, juguetonas palabras, en fila india, como pequeñas ostras preparándose para un festín…, te van haciendo sentir.

Acompaña a Alicia, deslizándote por las páginas como si fueras cayendo por un… sueño sin fin, onírico y estrambótico, y conocerás, si no los conoces ya, a un montón de personajes de lo más variado y variopinto: desde un conejo apresurado; a un sombrerero que toma el té de múltiples maneras, mientras celebra a cada segundo; una oruga con un profesorado oculto, seguramente; un gato que se oculta como se muestra la multifacética luna; una reina con la tensión arterial por las nubes, casi seguro… y muchos personajes más. A la par que puede que sientas cómo te haces pequeñ@ y grande a la vez…

Esta historia nos muestra, quizás sin querer, o gracias a la narrativa ‘’Nonsense’’, como la llamaron… que una persona, y no creo que importe mucho la edad, puesto que la historia está escrita por un adulto que fue niño, puede tener mucha imaginación, y preocupaciones a la vez.

Las ganas de escapar de la realidad, encontrarse en un lugar desconocido y quimérico; lleno de animales que hablan, pero que también se estresan como los humanos, o que te dan consejos a seguir; así como la continua idea de crecer o no, para dar el paso o mantenerse en el mismo lugar; hasta llegar a situaciones, en teoría sin sentido, prestas a ser juzgadas por los adultos, en este caso idealizados por una corona…



Una lectura intensa, que como una de esas canciones que no entiendes del todo, pero inconscientemente te hace bailar, te hará sentir, preferiblemente si eres algo bohemio… en tu maravilloso lugar.



Volver es tu decisión :)

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an indispensable collection. The two Alice books, beautifully written works which will never cease to be read, and The Hunting of the Snark (the greatest nonsense poem in English and one of the great modern epics) are here in full with their delightful illustrations, alongside selections of Carroll's other works, admittedly lesser but still interesting. This is essential reading, for everyone, regardless of their age. If anything, the adults need Carroll more than children do.

[Erica Locke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only story i enjoyed in this one is Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. I listened to the audiobook and it was amazing. 😍

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading and rereading this book when I was a kid. I loved it. No movie in my opinion was that great at reproducing Alice's adventures. The book was the way to go. I love the symbolism of a chess game. How she became the most powerful piece in chess as she completed her journey. I recommend this book to any child or adult.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was hard to read ... the Alice stories and the snark story are very good !! The rest is absolute nonsense and the end with the letters to the little girls ... super creepy

[Justin Ulmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The majority of the selections contained within this collection are solid though not without fault. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is herein truncated to Alice in Wonderland, however, its sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There retains its complete title.

Tenniel's illustrations are large and boldly displayed through the two aforementioned selections. The Hunting of the Snark, A Tangled Tale, and Phantasmagoria, though they contain illustrations elsewhere, and by other artists, do not herein retain said illustrations.

Speaking of Phantasmagoria, therein lies the rub. In this "Best of" collection, section two is simply labeled: Phantasmagoria. This section could be more accurately labeled: Selections from Phantasmagoria and Other Poems, Sylvie and Bruno, and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded. This, however accurate, is far less concise. You be the judge.

Below I have detailed what is actually contained in this section of the collection.

Legend:
POP = Phantasmagoria and Other Poems
SB = Sylvie and Bruno
SBC = Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

Collection, in order of appearance (Section breaks for clarity, brackets mine):
[Selections from Phantasmagoria and Other Poems: Part 1]
Dyscomfyture (POP: Canto 7 Excerpt) [Cantos 1-6, 8 and most of 7 are in nowise represented]
Poeta Fit, non nascitur (POP)
A Sea Dirge (POP)
Ye Carpette Knyghte (POP)
Atalanta in Camden-town (POP)

[Selections from Sylvie and Bruno and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded]
The Professor's Song: The Little Man That Had a Little Gun (SBC: Ch. 17 Excerpt)
Doll Song (SBC: Ch. 5 Excerpt)
King Fisher Song (SBC: Ch. 1 Excerpt)
There Be Three Badgers on a Mossy Stone (SB: Ch. 17 Excerpt)
The Gardener's Song (SB/SBC: Various Excerpts)
The Pig-tale (SBC: Ch. 23 Excerpt) [The first line should read: "Little Birds are dining", not drinking]
What Tottles Meant (SBC: Ch. 13 Excerpt)

[Selections from Phantasmagoria and Other Poems: Part 2]
Hiawatha's Photographing (POP)
The Three Voices (POP)
Tema Con Variazioni (POP) [accents committed, originally: Tèma con Variaziòni]
The Lang Coortin' (POP)

So, if you are looking for a collection that includes the entirety of the poem Phantasmagoria, this is not it. You only get less than 1/8 of that poem in its entirety and a handful of the "Other Poems" from that collection. Nowhere in this collection is this information detailed. I would have liked to have been informed of that before purchasing this collection.

Nonsense from Letters is incidental and amusing at best.

I would find it hard to recommend this collection to anyone over other Carroll Collections, however, if "Phantasmagoria" was retitled to say "Poems from Phantasmagoria & Sylvie and Bruno" and given a proper introduction I might be convinced to change my mind. Maybe.

[Ross Lampert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice in Wonderland: An essentially plotless story in which bizarre characters appear at random intervals to do inexplicable things for no apparent reason. And then we discover it was all a dream. Despite many memorable and long-surviving lines, plus the poem Jabberwocky, I was greatly disappointed.

Phantasmagoria: Clever poetry, I suppose, if you have to have poems in iambic meter whose lines always rhyme.

Through the Looking-Glass: This story is still essentially plotless, still a dream, even more full of bizarre characters than Wonderland, but the writing is more mature and introduces many of the poems and phrases we associate with Carroll: Jabberwocky, believing six impossible things before breakfast, etc.

A Tangled Tale: Carroll, a mathematician as well as a minister and author, strains to create math problems disguised as clever stories, which he calls "knots." The stories were serialized in a magazine and were apparently popular, as correspondents wrote in with their attempts at solutions. Carroll critiques the successes and failures and provides his own, not always clear, solutions.

The Hunting of the Snark: An epic-style poem with an actual plot this time! Once again, the cast of characters is strange, and includes a beaver, and once again the stanzas are all rhymed poetry, but the lines are more complex and the entire story more engaging. The first piece in the book I thoroughly enjoyed, once I got the feel of it.

Nonsense from Letters: Am I the only person to wonder why Lewis Carroll only wrote to little girls?

[Karen Valenzuela · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lewis Carroll Book

I never was an Alice in Wonderland fan when I was a kid. I have never felt the story spoke to me in any way.

But I have always loved the idea of what this story represents, or what I have read of it in articles or other books. So I really thought that as an adult I would connect with the story and love it. But no. Still not for me.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun one to revisit with Annie, but wow is it odd. I didn't remember all the word play, especially in Through the Looking Glass. I think the Hunting of the Snark was the most pleasant surprise for me, and Annie seemed to like the rhyming nature of those sections.

[niffy]

first book in 2025.. oh im sure

[Karen Repka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was inspired to read the original versions of Alice in
Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass after watching the Tim Burton movie version. The Disney version, a TV version, and the children's books I read as a child are all mixed versions of both stories, and I realize that I had never really read the originals! I esp. never knew the story of Through the Looking Glass (I thought it was all part of Alice in Wonderland. I had so much fun reading Lewis Carroll! It is very funny for an adult -- many puns and illogical thinking! A child would simply not get the humor! I highly encourage you to pick up the original Lewis Carroll. This version also has great original illustrations!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't seem to find the version of the book that I read, but the title was similar to this one.

I know this story very well so I mostly skimmed through this book. I focused a lot on the pictures because I'm connected very much to my artistic side of the brain. The pictures were very detailed although the pictures were drawn in a very fine ink pen and in limited amounts of area. Each piece of art, I would say, probably contains more that 3,000 strokes of an ink pen. (haha, funny how I actually thought about how many strokes each picture took to complete :p)

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I didn't find the other stories to be interesting at all. In fact, they were hard to read. Perhaps because they were written so long ago, it was difficult for me to process them. Alice in Wonderland is by far my favorite story in this book. Lewis Carroll does an amazing job creating a unique, "mad" world in which Alice has her adventures. I never read this book as a child, but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whoa. Maybe I'm not intellectual enough to appreciate Carroll's poetry, his plays on words or his cooky imagination. Now I know that the movie is based on Alice in Wonderland AND Alice and the Looking Glass. I think my brain actually hurt after finishing those two stories because of the tangents and non-sensical dialogue. Like I said, maybe I just don't get it. But I do want to see the new movie with Johnny Depp . . .

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute and fun book to read. I had a lot of fun. I love all of the allusions it gives you. Also, I loved the plot. It's a bout a teenage girl that gets suck into the underworld. She meet many different characters. Some scary others just weird. She needs to defeat the queen to save the underworld. Although this book was most fantasy it was very interesting and I will probably read it again. I recommend this book to mostly girls, because it's a girly kind of book.

[Valerie]

I THINK this is the edition I read. There were the wonderland books, of course, but I'd read those before. What interested me more was the letters. If this IS the one I read, it includes a piece of advice concerning mailing a letter: carry the letter in your HAND. Otherwise, you will have a nice walk, passing the post office both ways, and arrive home with the letter still in your pocket.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read the classics of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, but I enjoyed the lesser works a bit more. Phantasmagoria was quite interesting, as was the Hunting of the Snark. A Tangled Tale is perhaps the best set of story problems I have ever encountered. I'd give the lesser works four stars.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved through the looking glass, there are lots of parts of it that are mixed in with Alice in Wonderland and visa versa and many parts that are left out if you've only ever seen movies of the story. Havening trouble getting through "A Tangled Tale" has a lot of math to the core of the story and I've never been one to enjoy or be good at the maths.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting off with Alice in Wonderland and going through a collection of Lewis Carroll. This is my bedtime reading when I need a little variety. It just isn't right that I haven't read Alice in Wonderland!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, that's what I gave the 5 starts to. I had to return it before I got to Through the Looking Glass. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading more of him.

[Jerrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I truly love the Alice stories, I cannot say I am truly a fan on nonsense... Alice's nonsense is in many ways controlled by her mind. It is a beautiful story of writing your future. But the rest is just too entirely nonsensical to truly have an interest in reading.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure any Lewis Carroll fan has a book of the compilations of his work. I'm a big fan of Alice in Wonderland and reading his other works was great too.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice in Wonderland (read)
Phantasmagoria (read)
Through the Looking Glass (read)
A Tangled Tale
The Hunting of the Snark
Nonsense From Letters

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know they say he was on opium when he wrote these books and other weird things about Lewis Carroll, but wow! He does an amazing job of describing a dream and then the imagination of a child.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful magical book involving rabbits, chesire cats, the queen of cards and many more strange creatures.

[Teresa]

The math story was a little annoying...when did I stop knowing Math. And the letters to the little girls creeped me out.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious to know the actual story of Alice and it seems to be a bit different from all the movies. I enjoyed both stories. Also, if you like poetry, you will find some in this book!

[Therese]

Gift from Roger

[Jerry Hardison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as classic a book as it was when I last read it at eleven years old. Did Lewis Carroll take LSD or was he just great on his own? You'll love the use of language.

[Dolly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this when I was really young and didn't like it. So, I thought I'm read it again. Guess what. I still don't like it.