Readers who share Alice's taste in books will be more than satisfied with The Annotated Alice, a volume that includes not only pictures and conversations, but a thorough gloss on the text as well. There may be some, like G.K. Chesterton, who abhor the notion of putting Lewis Carroll's masterpiece under a microscope and analyzing it within an inch of its whimsical life. But as Martin Gardner points out in his introduction, so much of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass is composed of private jokes and details of Victorian manners and mores that modern audiences are not likely to catch. Yes, Alice can be enjoyed on its own merits, but The Annotated Alice appeals to the nosy parker in all of us. Thus we learn, for example, that the source of the mouse's tale may have been Alfred Lord Tennyson who "once told Carroll that he had dreamed a lengthy poem about fairies, which began with very long lines, then the lines got shorter and shorter until the poem ended with fifty or sixty lines of two syllables each." And that, contrary to popular belief, the Mad Hatter character was not a parody of then Prime Minister Gladstone, but rather was based on an Oxford furniture dealer named Theophilus Carter.

Gardner's annotations run the gamut from the factual and historical to the speculative and are, in their own way, quite as fascinating as the text they refer to. Occasionally, he even comments on himself, as when he quotes a fellow annotator of Alice, James Kincaid: "The historical context does not call for a gloss but the passage provides an opportunity to point out the ambivalence that may attend the central figure and her desire to grow up." And then follows with a charming riposte: "I thank Mr. Kincaid for supporting my own rambling." There's a lot of information in the margins (indeed, the page is pretty evenly divided between Carroll's text and Gardner's), but the ramblings turn out to be well worth the time. So hand over your old copy of Lewis Carroll's classic to the kids--this Alice in Wonderland is intended entirely for adults. --Alix Wilber

Customer Reviews Average rating - 4.5

Rating - 3 Date: 2009-01-06
Content: I had hoped this annotated work would explain the historical facts being lampooned (e.g., Queen of Hearts and the Tarts)-- the insider's joke so to speak. That would have been so much more interesting. Failing this, the book is mildly entertaining in terms of the writing and publication processes.
Summary: Not the hoped for insider's explanation

Rating - 5 Date: 2009-01-06
Content: Bought this for my teen who says this is the new cool book. It is perfect so detailed and illustrated.
Summary: The Best

Rating - 5 Date: 2008-12-31
Content: I ordered this as a gift for my 24 year old daughter. She is not easy to buy for. I didn't realize there were so many book options for Alice in Wonderland and wasn't sure if my daughter would like the annotated book. She was thrilled with the book.
Summary: Alice in Wonderland

Rating - 3 Date: 2008-12-04
Content: My first impressions of this book were that it was like reading C.S. Lewis on cheap drugs. The events are complete non sequiturs and the changes in plot are worse.

It appears to be a spoiled child wandering in a world she does not understand, nor is willing to learn about - unlike Lucy in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe who seeks to understand the local customs and circumstances.

The book is very easy to read but it leaves distaste in my literary mouth. I know it is considered a classic but I just do not see it, and if I did not have to read it for school I would not have bothered to finish it.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

Summary: Soso

Rating - 5 Date: 2008-10-28
Content: The book arrived promptly via standard shipping. I purchaed this book to replace a much earlier and well-read edition of The Annotated Alice. The dust cover and the book arrived in excellent condition. I am very pleased with the book and Amazon's service. As you may have guessed, I very much like children's literature and find that more often than not, the content is far more interesting to adults.
Summary: Review of The Annotated Alice