Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass / the Hunting of the Snark / a Tangled Tale / Phantasmagoria: Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking ... the Snark/A Tangled Tale and Phantasmagoria

by Lewis Carroll, Richard Herrick (Editor)

These volumes represent each author's best and most famous writings. This finely crafted and affordable series offers the works of these world-renowned authors to a wider audience.
Includes "Alice in Wonderland, "The Hunting of the Snark, "Sylvie and Bruno, and "Through the Looking Glass.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

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

[David Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished Alice in Wonderland a few weeks ago, as well as Through the Looking Glass and "Phantasmagoria" and other works by Lewis Carroll in my little Wordsworth Classics book. I suppose Alice in Wonderland is a must-read, especially since its characters and situations are now so much a part of our culture. As for enjoyment, I would have to say that it was time well-spent: light and airy reading at cool German midnight with a few stars poking through the clouds and into my large, open bedroom window. It was not as if I had to concentrate much or learn anything or wonder about historical or geographical context. The sweet, young Alice becomes the poster child for the Victorian era (ok, scratch the last sentence), and I was amazed at the fearlessness of her exploits. While we all tend to fear the unknown, for Alice it was not a problem, and nothing seemed to surprise her. Such courage and innocence is refreshing to read, but unfortunately it becomes translated into "naivete" in the real world.

In Through the Looking Glass, Alice was quite contented to be a pawn in her newly discovered world, somehow knowing that it would pay off in the end. Her life in the Looking Glass World was one big game, and she would do best if she would keep this in mind. For her, the next step (square) was clear, and she must do whatever is required to reach it. Real life may also be a game, I don't know, but the rules and steps and characters are not always so clear. And I suppose some will lose and some will win. Such is life.

I awoke this morning from a dream that appeared as real as conscious reality. My friends and I had apprehended two murderous gangsters just after they committed their heinous deeds, then had to hold them for 24 hours until the police finally showed up. It was realistic nonetheless. I don't suppose that Alice could have had a dream like this. The stuff of dreams is the very fabric of our lives: the memories, the hopes, the fears, the darkest or lightest thoughts, our deepest feelings or our slightest whims. Would that we could all sometimes be like Alice, sweet, seven-year-old Alice, and dream on about the fancies of worlds of our own making.

And now for the other pieces in the book. "Phantasmagoria" was an entertaining poem about encounters between man and ghosts, but my favorite poem in the book was "The Hunting of the Snark". I read the final piece, "A Tangled Tale", with hesitation; I surely did not want to take the time to work out the mathematical word problems offered in Carroll's serial submissions to The Monthly Packet. But in the end I found the very presentation of the problems enough to keep my mind in gear for a while.

Carroll is an entertaining author and securely has his place in literary history. It is a wonder that we could find so much value in such nonsense.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been meaning to return to "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" for some time; upon reading them again, now, I found that my memory had betrayed me. To begin with, the two books are very different; "Alice" is manic and pun-crazy, while "Through the Looking Glass" has a more moderate pace and a stronger tether to the logic of the real world. What shone through most fully, for me at least, was the fact that these stories were written by Carroll for a particular young girl he loved. In many ways, reading them feels like eavesdropping on a bedtime story told to by a man to a specific, precocious little girl--rather than as the children's classics they have come to be reagarded as.

[Elzaffa · Rating 4 out of 5]

not so disney

[Antonio Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just incredible, Can someone be so crazy and sane at the same time?, It is the only thing to say about this author and his writings. You should enjoy, no matter if are young or old.

[Esther Gaviria · Rating 2 out of 5]

muy tedioso, la verdad no me gusto. Me costo mucho terminar de leerlo.