Introduction

A beautiful new edition of Steadman's 1968 work, now available in paperback.

The force of social satire and fantasy in the original text of Alice in Wonderland is as relevant today as when the book was first published in 1865. In this edition, Ralph Steadman's drawings remain faithful to the book's satirical tone while revealing his own passion for irony.

This version of Carroll's classic tale is a startling departure from the traditional Victorian or Disney approaches. In his introduction, Steadman describes how a fresh illustrative perspective created an original, modern vision. The story acquires new life with his audacious and dynamic illustrations.

The 47 pen-and-ink illustrations are the same as in the critically acclaimed 1968 British edition. Reformatted and meticulously restored, they convey the energy, imagination and power of Steadman's pen and introduce the wit and wisdom of Alice to a new generation of readers.

(200311)

Source of legend and lyric, reference and conjecture, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is for most children pure pleasure in prose. While adults try to decipher Lewis Carroll's putative use of complex mathematical codes in the text, or debate his alleged use of opium, young readers simply dive with Alice through the rabbit hole, pursuing "The dream-child moving through a land / Of wonders wild and new." There they encounter the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Mock Turtle, and the Mad Hatter, among a multitude of other characters--extinct, fantastical, and commonplace creatures. Alice journeys through this Wonderland, trying to fathom the meaning of her strange experiences. But they turn out to be "curiouser and curiouser," seemingly without moral or sense.

For more than 130 years, children have reveled in the delightfully non-moralistic, non-educational virtues of this classic. In fact, at every turn, Alice's new companions scoff at her traditional education. The Mock Turtle, for example, remarks that he took the "regular course" in school: Reeling, Writhing, and branches of Arithmetic-Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. Carroll believed John Tenniel's illustrations were as important as his text. Naturally, Carroll's instincts were good; the masterful drawings are inextricably tied to the well-loved story. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

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