The Nursery Alice

Publisher Marketing: Lewis Carroll published "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" in 1865 and "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There" in 1872. In the entry in his diary for 15 February 1881 he records: "I wrote to Macmillan to suggest a new idea: a 'Nursery Edition' of Alice with pictures printed in." On 20th February 1889, some eight years later, after much preparation and negotiation with both publisher and illustrator, the text was at last ready. The illustrator was John Tenniel, who coloured twenty of his original illustrations in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" for this "Nursery Edition." The front and back cover (reprinted here as the frontispiece and on page xiv) were designed by Carroll's friend Emily Gertrude Thomson. The story itself is intended for pre-school children "aged from Nought to Five." Running to just under 7,000 words, it is considerably shorter than both "Alice's Adventures under Ground" (15,500 words) and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (27,500 words). Much of the narrative consists of the author's addressing the young listener, explaining the story by reference to the illustrations. The effect is rather charming, particularly where Carroll pokes fun at features in Tenniel's illustrations. These were quite skilfully and attractively coloured." Contributor Bio:  Carroll, Lewis 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. Contributor Bio:  Tenniel, John Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the pen name of Oxford mathematician, logician, photographer and author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, is famous the world over for his fantastic classics Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Hunting of the Snark, Jabberwocky, and Sylvie and Bruno.