Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (Paperback)

Lewis Carroll's tale of Alice and her adventures in the nonsensical dream world of Wonderland has delighted readers young and old for more than a hundred years. Full of sublime make-believe and introducing such unforgettable characters as the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and the Cheshire Cat, the Alice books are full of anarchic humor and sparkling word play. Now, with the release of Tim Burton's much anticipated film reimagining, readers will be eager to read (and reread) this original and experimental masterpiece.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was a man of diverse interests - in mathematics, logic, photgraphy, art, theater, religion, medicine, and science. He was happiest in the company of children for whom he created puzzles, clever games, and charming letters.

As all Carroll admirers know, his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), became an immediate success and has since been translated into more than eighty languages. The equally popular sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, was published in 1872.

The Alice books are but one example of his wide ranging authorship. The Hunting of the Snark, a classic nonsense epic (1876) and Euclid and His Modern Rivals, a rare example of humorous work concerning mathematics, still entice and intrigue today's students. Sylvie and Bruno, published toward the end of his life contains startling ideas including an 1889 description of weightlessness.

The humor, sparkling wit and genius of this Victorian Englishman have lasted for more than a century. His books are among the most quoted works in the English language, and his influence (with that of his illustrator, Sir John Tenniel) can be seen everywhere, from the world of advertising to that of atomic physics.

Hugh Haughton is a senior lecturer at the University of York. He edited Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass for Penguin Classics.

Hugh Haughton is a senior lecturer at the University of York. He edited Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass for Penguin Classics.