THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS* by LEWIS CARROLL with illustrations by SIR JOHN TENNIEL.

The below book synopsis may well give away too much information, if do you desire to read it then please feel free to highlight the text.

Through The Looking Glass, And What Alice Found There is as funny and fantastic as its predecessor and companion masterpiece Alice's Adventure's In Wonderland. Alice 'lightly jumped down, into a world peopled by chess pieces (the game itself is woven into the story and Carroll gives the moves in the very first page of the book **) and oddly-different nursery rhyme characters. Tweedledum who gets so cross because his 'nice new rattle' is spoiled and his brother Tweedledee who recites for Alice the superb nonsense poem 'The Walrus and the Carpenter'. With Alice you will meet Humpty Dumpty, who helpfully explains to her the meaning of that other masterpiece of nonsense verse 'Jabberwocky' and the kindly, dotty White Knight who likes to protect his horse's legs from sharkbites.

...... Inner front cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it - it was the black kitten's fault entirely.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 126): "I see nobody on the road," said Alice.

"I only wish I had such eyes," the King remarked in a fretful tone. "To be able to see Nobody! And at that distance too! Why, it's as much as I can do to see real people, by this light."

Through The Looking Glass = Through The Mirror - a mirror being an object to be found in many a women's handbag/purse. A perfect choice for the reading challenge that is .....

- A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse or backpack category.

Despite my mam insisting that I did read this as a child, I have no recollection of it whatsoever unlike Alice's Adventures In Wonderland which I can picture myself reading as if it were yesterday. Mind you, how much I actually remember of the book is doubtful given that it was a long time ago and I've since seen many tv/film adaptations which tend to lump the two books together under the banner of Alice In Wonderland making knowing which book was which quite difficult.

Anyway,

A particularly nice version of the book, this Macmillan New Children's Edition contains all of John Tenniel's original illustrations plus eight coloured drawings that have not been used since 1911 as well as a piece entitled The Wasp In A Wig which was deleted by the author before the final printing and has only now been included AND an Easter Greeting from the author who by the way was really named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a Reverend, Lewis Carroll was a pseudonym.

Lacking any real magic for me, the characters just didn't seem as endearing for one thing though this was likely because the White Rabbit was missing.

Not so much a story as Alice venturing from one strange thing to another, this I felt was more a collection of nonsense literature which, by its very definition, defied any logical reasoning, and thus was far too surreal for my tastes ....... as were the rhymes which included 'classics' such as the overlong 'Jabberwocky' and, the even longer, more tedious 'The Walrus and the Carpenter'.

Not a book for me I'm afraid, I can't help but wonder what today's children would make of it.

*Unable to locate the MacMillan version I read, I bring you the nearest product which is a Penguin publication.
** This is not to be found in all editions, let alone publications, of this book.