Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is a delightful book for children, and one that will also amuse grown-ups who have not quite forgotten what it is to be young. Mr. Carroll (whose real name, we understand, is the Rev. C. L. Dodgson) has written a story that is at once a fairy tale, a dream, and a philosophical puzzle. The little girl Alice, who falls down a rabbit-hole into a world where nothing is quite as it should be, is a charming creation — sensible, curious, and altogether natural amid the most unnatural circumstances. The author's invention never flags. The creatures Alice encounters — the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts — are all drawn with a humour that is at once whimsical and precise. The illustrations, by Mr. John Tenniel, are excellent and add greatly to the book's attractions. We can cordially recommend this volume to the nursery, and to the library of every grown-up person who values a harmless laugh and a fresh imagination.

The appearance of a new children's book by the author of the clever and amusing "Phantasmagoria" is an event of no small importance in the world of juvenile literature. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" reveals Mr. Carroll as a writer of extraordinary fancy and humour. The dream-framework is employed with consummate skill; the transitions from one fantastic scene to another are managed with a subtlety that defies analysis. Beneath the surface of nonsense, one detects a keen and playful intelligence at work — a mind that delights in paradox, in the inversion of logic, in the sheer comedy of absurdity. The book is beautifully printed, and Tenniel's woodcuts are worthy of the text. We predict for "Alice" a long and happy life in the nurseries of England.

A very remarkable little book. The adventures of Alice in that strange region where she finds herself after tumbling down a rabbit-hole are related with a gravity that makes them infinitely amusing. Mr. Carroll possesses the rare art of writing nonsense of the most delightful kind — nonsense that is never silly but always witty, and which carries with it an air of profound wisdom. The humour is of that genuine sort which appeals alike to children and to adults, and which never fails to please. The book is beautifully got up, and the illustrations by Mr. Tenniel are in every way worthy of the text.

Maybe I just dont understand Victorian humor or something but this book did nothing for me. Its just a series of random weird things happening with no real plot. The characters are annoying rather than charming. I get that its supposed to be a dream but dreams need SOME internal logic or at least be entertaining. Found it a chore to finish honestly.

Read this as an adult and its SO much weirder than I remembered. The Disney movie really sanitized it lol. The real Alice is kind of sassy and the Queen of Hearts is genuinely terrifying. I loved the poems (Jabberwocky is genius) and the wordplay. Carroll had such a clever mind. Some parts are slow but the good bits are REALLY good.