Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (illustrated by Robert Ingpen)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I saw this illustrated edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in Guildford Museum. Unlike the original edition by Lewis Carroll, it did not have the John Tenniel illustrations, instead the illustrations are by Robert Ingpen.

It was an absolute must have.

I was looking at the Lewis Carroll exhibition in Guildford Museum, part of the Curiouser and Curiouser season. I could have picked it up there and then, but I did not wish to carry it around with me all day. A decision I regretted once home.

A week and a half later I was in Guildford for a performances of Alice in Court in the Guildhall, and picked up a copy.

What makes this an absolute must have is the fantastic illustrations by Robert Ingpen. He bases them upon the original John Tenniel illustrations. The only major difference is that Alice is not as we recognize her from John Tenniel, she is more like Alice Liddell as portrayed in the photos taken by Lewis Carroll.

As an added bonus there are a couple of facsimile pages from Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, the handwritten manuscript Lewis Carroll gave to Alice Liddell ‘A Christmas gift to a dear child in memory of a summer day’. The illustrations were by Lewis Carroll himself.

I was though disappointed to find that some of my favorites are missing. Alice hunched up and the White Rabbit scurrying away, drawing to one side a curtain and seeing a small door behind the curtain, to name but two.

A neat touch is Lewis Carroll reading to Alice Liddell, which prefaces the book.

If you have one copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland beside that with the original John Tenniel illustrations, then this is the one to get.

I cannot wait for Through the Looking-Glass.

Also see

And what is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

Tags: Alice, Alice in Wonderland, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, Robert Ingpen