Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Retold in Words of One Syllable

Carroll, Lewis; Gorham, J. C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904808441 ISBN 13: 9781904808442

Publisher: Evertype, 2010

In the early twentieth century, great books were often "retold in words of one syllable" so that the language would be easier for beginning readers. In this adaptation, Mrs J. C. Gorham "cheats" only a little, hyphenating some longer words that couldn't be avoided-but the text remains a lively and enjoyable retelling of Lewis Carroll's classic tale. Recommended for young readers and for adult literacy classes. -- Mrs J. C. Gorham, alas, is known to us only by her married name-and this means, by the usual practice of the time, that her husband was named J. C. Nevertheless, Mrs Gorham is notable for having written three books in "Burt's Series of One Syllable Books", Gulliver's Travels (1896) and Black Beauty (1905) being her other two, with some eleven other books in this "series of Classics, selected specially for young people's reading, and told in simple language for youngest readers". Mrs Gorham's adaptation is a fine example of monosyllabic writing. Retelling in words of one syllable is indeed a "clever game" and it isn't easy to do -- not convincingly, anyway. Mrs Gorham achieved it: her retelling in simple language for younger and early readers is still worth reading today.

About the Author:

Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, an English writer, mathematician, Anglican deacon, and photographer. Best known for his classics Alice s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and Jabberwocky, Carroll was also an accomplished inventor who created an early version of what is today known as Scrabble. The publication of Alice s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 brought Carroll a certain level of fame, although he continued to supplement his income through his work as a mathematics tutor at Christ Church, Oxford College. Carroll s whimsical characters and nonsensical verse resonated with Victorian-era readers, and his books continue to be enjoyed by numerous modern societies dedicated to his promoting his works.