Alice in Wonderland Theatre Programme from 1998.
Performed at Compass Theatre, Ickenham.
Programme received as a birthday gift from a member of the cast: Trevor Penton starring as the mouse and the Knave of Hearts. He’s even signed it for me!
20
Dec
22
Through the Hollow Oak
Through the Hollow Oak: A Book of Nonsense for Children and Older Children: A Fairy Story without any Fairies by Frank Egan.
Illustrated by J.P. Sayer
Published by Denis Archer, 1932.
First edition hardback (green cloth), no dust jacket.
Signed by author and illustrator.
Dedicated:
“with profound respect to the memory of Lewis Carroll”
There seems to be a second book: Mary in Beastie Island- published 1933.
Nice use of ‘Herstory’ a long time before RuPaul!
“‘She,’ said the man, ‘is Queen Anne, and this is her story. So it’s a Herstory book.
Bought in Marchpane, but also available on Amazon.
20
Dec
22
Alice : Jasmin Vardimon
Programme for Jasmin Vardimon’s Alice at Sadler’s Wells.
Soft backed theatre programme, production October 2022
From the Sadler’s Wells website:
A woman, or perhaps a child, unsure of her identity and where she is going.
Escaping or exploring, discovering the powers within her changing body.
The world around her is different, curious, and compelling – at times absolutely bonkers.
Photos of the production on the Guardian website here.
19
Dec
22
Wilson in Wonderland
Wilson in Wonderland- a Chronicle, by Jon.
A collection of cartoons by Jon, cartoonist for the Daily Mail, produced during Harold Wilson’s years as Prime Minister.
‘Jon’ was born William John Philpin Jones in Wales in 1913, but was known as John Jones. He joined The Mail when his previous employer (the News Chronicle) was taken over in 1960.
He stayed at The Daily Mail until 1981 when he moved to The Mail on Sunday where he remained until 1988. Bizarrely for someone working on those papers (maybe they were different then) he claimed to be “left of left”.
Published 1968 by Geoffrey Bles, London. Hardback 96 pages.
ISBN-10 : 0713802189
ISBN-13 : 978-0713802184
The Alice connection is all in the title and cover, but I just couldn’t resist. Bought in Marchpane, but available on Amazon.
Drink Me: Curious Cocktails from Wonderland by Nick Perry and Paul Rosser.
Published by Rock Point (part of The Quarto Group) 2018, hardback 1st edition.
ISBN-13 : 978-1631065125
From the back cover:
Great adventures often start with a simple sip—one of the most famous being Alice’s adventure down the rabbit hole with a curiously labelled elixir- and Drink Me invites you to do the same! Learn how to mix twnty-five cocktails that will fill you with wonder with their surreal flavor combinations while giving party guests a unique and perfect drink selection for your next spirit-soaked Mad Hatter’s tea party.
Nick Perry and Paul Rosser have delved into the depths of the Pool of Tears in search of the most magical ingredients and sumptuous flavors, and- after some sage advice from a helpful caterpillar- have compiled a list of recipes that would have been regularly enjoyed by the inhabitants of Wonderland.
Includes recipes for The Caterpillar’s Hookah, the Pool of Tears, the Cucumber Frames and the Off with her Head. A lot of them sound genuinely delicious, but also involve a lot of prep: making your own flavoured vodkas and syrups.
Strangely, the descriptions and reviews I’ve found online of the book say it contains 20 recipes, but the cover of mine definitely says 25, and I’ve counted them to check. I wonder what’s been taken out…
Available on Amazon and there’s an interview with the authors here.
24
Jul
22
Through a Looking Glass Darkly
Through a Looking Glass Darkly by Jake Fior.
Published by Alice Looking (1 Jan. 2021)
ISBN-13 : 978-1527256903
ISBN-10 : 1527256901
Sold via the Alice Through the Looking Glass shop on Cecil Court, London WC2, and also available on Amazon… but I got my copy at the V&A Alice exhibition.
From the dust jacket blurb:
Through a Looking Glass Darkly is a deeply layered hypnotic journey to the dark side of Carroll’s original text.
If Through the Looking Glass is Carroll’s mirror image of Wonderland, then Fior’s new novel, ‘Through A Looking Glass Darkly’ , is the mirror crack’d.
The V&A website:
The debut novel by Jake Fior features a dual narrative, interweaving details of Victorian magical societies with an updated narrative based on Lewis Carroll’s original text. A teenage Alice embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she steps through the looking glass into a distorted reflection of the modern world.
Now, I’ve not yet read the book, but the cover says there are ‘New Illustrations by John Tenniel’: they look to me suspiciously like the original ones, coloured and sometimes altered. I mean, I like them, but I’m not sure they’re new- maybe I’m missing something.
Alice in Wonderland Colors Primer Book and Playset by ‘Little Master Carroll’ and Jennifer Adams. Illustrated by Alison Oliver.
ISBN-13 : 978-1423636441
One of the many BabyLit books, this is a colour primer with an Alice theme. The board book features the White Rabbit, Alice’s black shoes, a purple bottle, an orange cat, blue caterpillar, a brown hat, pink flamingoes, red hearts, a green frog and a yellow teapot.
The box also includes press-out card figures of Alice, the Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and others.
With 7 paperboard punch-out cards featuring characters and scenes from Alice in Wonderland: A BabyLit® Colors Primer and a box to use as a stage set, you can turn Lewis Carroll’s classic into hours of fun! Create your own Cheshire Cat, have tea with the Mad Hatter, or set up wonderland and have Alice pop up the rabbit hole. It’s the perfect gift for literature lovers!
Available on Amazon.
09
Jan
22
Alice in Wonderland Story Box
Alice in Wonderland Story Box: Remake the Classic Fairy Tale by Alice Laval.
ISBN: 9781786274793
Published 2019, Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
Twenty puzzle pieces that can fit together in any order, allowing for multiple retellings of the story.
From the publishers:
In this charming puzzle, Alice in Wonderland is updated to the modern city: the White Rabbit runs a hot dog stand and the Cheshire Cat is a wily cab driver. The Queen of Hearts even drives a pink stretch limo! Anne Laval’s witty illustrations will introduce a whole new audience to the classic story. The game contains 20 storytelling puzzle pieces printed on both sides. Each piece can be swapped around or flipped over to allow for all kinds of plot twists and turns, and there are three alternative endings. Together, all the pieces stretch out to over 8 feet.
Alice Laval is a French artist who has illustrated another ‘story box’ of fairy tales.
Available on Amazon.
Harper’s Bazaar Collecters’ Edition May 2021
From the V&A’s site:
To celebrate the exhibition ‘Curiouser and Curiouser’ and all things Alice in Wonderland, Harper’s Bazaar asked friends of the magazine to contribute to this issue. It features bespoke collages and a memoir by Helena Bonham Carter, an essay by Joyce Carol Oates and memories from Grace Slick, Heston Blumenthal, Helen Oxenbury and the Royal Ballet’s principal ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson. This unique cover, of which there are only 200, has been created with the iconic pop artist Peter Blake, who is also an Alice devotee.
I didn’t realise when I bought it that it was a limited edition, so that’s nice!
09
Dec
21
V&A Follow the Rabbit Leaflet
Leaflet for kids given out at the V&A’s Alice exhibition: Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser. Folds up to make a white rabbit/ envelope hybrid: very Wonderland Postage Stamp Case!
Alice in the Internet 