The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and The Secret History of Wonderland - Softcover
*Shortlisted for the 2015 Costa Biography Award*
*BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week *
Wonderland is part of our cultural heritage – a shortcut for all that is beautiful and confusing; a metaphor used by artists, writers and politicians for 150 years.
But beneath the fairy tale lies the complex history of the author and his subject: of Charles Dodgson, the quiet academic, and his second self, Lewis Carroll – storyteller, innovator and avid collector of 'child-friends'. And of his 'dream-child', Alice Liddell, and the fictional alter ego that would never let her grow up.
This is their secret story: a history of love and loss, of innocence and ambiguity, and of one man’s need to make Wonderland his refuge in a rapidly changing world.
Drawing on previously unpublished material, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst traces the creation and influence of the Alice books against a shifting cultural landscape – the birth of photography, changing definitions of childhood and sexuality and the tensions inherent in the transition between the Victorian and modern worlds.
*BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week *
Wonderland is part of our cultural heritage – a shortcut for all that is beautiful and confusing; a metaphor used by artists, writers and politicians for 150 years.
But beneath the fairy tale lies the complex history of the author and his subject: of Charles Dodgson, the quiet academic, and his second self, Lewis Carroll – storyteller, innovator and avid collector of 'child-friends'. And of his 'dream-child', Alice Liddell, and the fictional alter ego that would never let her grow up.
This is their secret story: a history of love and loss, of innocence and ambiguity, and of one man’s need to make Wonderland his refuge in a rapidly changing world.
Drawing on previously unpublished material, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst traces the creation and influence of the Alice books against a shifting cultural landscape – the birth of photography, changing definitions of childhood and sexuality and the tensions inherent in the transition between the Victorian and modern worlds.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Product Description:
Wonderland is part of our cultural heritage - a shortcut for all that is beautiful and confusing; a metaphor used by artists, writers and politicians for 150 years. But beneath the fairy tale lies the complex history of the author and his subject: of Charles Dodgson, the quiet academic, and his second self, Lewis Carroll - storyteller, innovator and avid collector of 'child-friends'. And of his 'dream-child', Alice Liddell, and the fictional alter ego that would never let her grow up. This is their secret story: a history of love and loss, of innocence and ambiguity, and of one man's need to make Wonderland his refuge in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on previously unpublished material, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst traces the creation and influence of the Alice books against a shifting cultural landscape - the birth of photography, changing definitions of childhood and sexuality and the tensions inherent in the transition between the Victorian and modern worlds.
Review:
"It is the ultimate book about Alice - comprehensive and scholarly, but so delightfully and elegantly written that it's a true work of literature" (Jacqueline Wilson)
"The Story of Alice is the best book on the myriad enigmas of Carroll’s heart-breaking wonderland I have ever read" (Robert McCrum Observer)
"Superb...toweringly the best of the dozens of books on Carroll which I have read" (AN Wilson Financial Times)
"Douglas-Fairhurst is a startling and exciting writer" (A.S. Byatt Spectator)
"This is biography at its best" (Lyndall Gordon New Statesman)
"The Story of Alice is the best book on the myriad enigmas of Carroll’s heart-breaking wonderland I have ever read" (Robert McCrum Observer)
"Superb...toweringly the best of the dozens of books on Carroll which I have read" (AN Wilson Financial Times)
"Douglas-Fairhurst is a startling and exciting writer" (A.S. Byatt Spectator)
"This is biography at its best" (Lyndall Gordon New Statesman)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHarvill Secker
- Publication date2015
- ISBN 10 184655862X
- ISBN 13 9781846558627
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages496
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The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and The Secret History of Wonderland
Published by
Harvill/ Secker, London
(2015)
ISBN 10: 184655862X
ISBN 13: 9781846558627
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Softcover
First Edition
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: new. First edition. First printing softcover. New, unread example. 488 pp. with index. Illustrations. Where did Alice stop and "Alice" begin? Beneath the fairy tale is the complex history of the author (Charles Dodgson and his second-self Lewis Carroll) and his subject, the real life "dream child" Alice Liddle and the fictional alter ego that would never let her grow up. This is their secret story---one of love and loss, innocence and ambiguity, and one man's need to make Wonderland his refuge. Seller Inventory # E19935
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The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and The Secret History of Wonderland
Published by
Harvill/ Secker
(2015)
ISBN 10: 184655862X
ISBN 13: 9781846558627
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Paperback
Quantity: 1
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. In shrink wrap. Seller Inventory # 100-33876
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