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"In the summer of 1858, in a garden behind Christ Church in Oxford, Charles Dodgson--better known by his pseudonym Lewis Carroll--dressed the six-year-old Alice Liddell in ragamuffin's clothes, and then snapped the camera's shutter. In The Alice Behind Wonderland, Simon Winchester uses the famous photograph of Alice as the launching pad for an appreciative energetic and penetrating look at the inspiration behind, and the making of, one of the greatest classics of children's literature. Indeed, Winchester shows that Dodgson's love of photography deeply influenced his view of the world, helping to transform this shy and half-deaf mathematician into one of the world's best-loved observers of childhood. Much like the fictional Alice's world, as the photograph is subject to closer examination, 'Alice Liddell as The Beggar Maid' becomes curiouser and curiouser, capturing a moment during a golden afternoon that would endure forever. 'Alice Liddell as The Beggar Maid' was, in short, the muse that would inspire the creation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Deftly engaging with Dogson's published writings, private diaries, and photography, Winchester weaves together the poignant, turbulent, and entirely fascinating story behind Lewis Carroll and the making of his Alice. Acclaim for Simon Winchester "An exceptionally engaging guideat home everywhere, ready for anything, full of gusto and seemingly omnivorous curiosity." --Pico Iyer, The New York Times Book Review "A master at telling a complex story compellingly and lucidly." --USA Today "Extraordinarily graceful." --Time "Winchester is an exquisite writer and a deft anecdoteur." --Christopher Buckley "A lyrical writer and an indefatigable researcher." --Newsweek"--… (more)
waltzmn: Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) is best known for the Alice books, but he was also an early photographer -- and is considered the first great photographer of children. Simon Winchester's book is largely about one image taken by Dodgson, "The Beggar Maid." Helmut Gernsheim's volume gives a greater context, discussing all of Dodgson's photographic career.… (more)
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The Alice behind Wonderland by Simon Winchester is a wonderful book that tells us a lot about Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, and the Victorian era, but in the end I found the book was too much about the technical details of the emerging technique of photography. ( )
when one spends a great deal of time with creative sorts, one finds oneself collecting certain phrases; phrases that sound like compliments but are not exactly lies if a compliment is not deserved. There's is the quintessential "What an interesting painting!" but that's old hat and too easily seen through. One moves on to such words as "spectacular" (after all, a train wreck IS a spectacle) and "I am so impressed that you got that published!"
On the back of this book, as one of the blurbs, there is a masterpiece of the genre I speak of. "An extraordinary tale, and Simon Winchester could not have told it better"
This is accurate. Sadly, there are many other folks who COULD have told it better. ( )
A brief look into the story, or should I say the backstory of Alice, the girl behind Alice of Wonderland, and the writer who created her. Gives a history of the beginnings of photography which has come a long way since. ( )
I found this a fascinating entry point into learning something about the early days of photography, as well as a look at Lewis Carroll and his relationship to Alice Liddell (and the Liddell family), which was instrumental in his creation of Alice's famous adventures. As I had only heard vague murmurings about Carroll (Dodgson) and his photographs of (and apparent infatuation with) young children, it was helpful to find out what is known about his character and intentions (not a lot) and what is speculative. I began to think more about photography itself--how accessible and popular it has become--and what we attempt to record, inspire, capture, communicate through this medium. And I was touched in a bittersweet way by the way Winchester tells the story of the real-life Alice after wonderland. Looking forward to After Alice by Gregory Maguire next...have no idea where that will take me. ( )
Chapter One THE PHOTOGRAPH IN QUESTION On the main floor of the Firestone Library, the cozily magnificent and prematurely ancient (it was built in 1948) Gothic centerpiece of the Princeton University campus, there i what appears to be the private library of an English gentleman's country house, carefully set back and hidden away to keep it from the general bustle of readers.
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The image of Alice Liddell, unforgettably young, unfogettably beautiful, once captured on the glass plate, then printed on the page, then pasted into an album bought, sold, collected, and finally consigned to the secure and deep darkness of Firestone Library, forever conjuring a wonderland of its very own.
"In the summer of 1858, in a garden behind Christ Church in Oxford, Charles Dodgson--better known by his pseudonym Lewis Carroll--dressed the six-year-old Alice Liddell in ragamuffin's clothes, and then snapped the camera's shutter. In The Alice Behind Wonderland, Simon Winchester uses the famous photograph of Alice as the launching pad for an appreciative energetic and penetrating look at the inspiration behind, and the making of, one of the greatest classics of children's literature. Indeed, Winchester shows that Dodgson's love of photography deeply influenced his view of the world, helping to transform this shy and half-deaf mathematician into one of the world's best-loved observers of childhood. Much like the fictional Alice's world, as the photograph is subject to closer examination, 'Alice Liddell as The Beggar Maid' becomes curiouser and curiouser, capturing a moment during a golden afternoon that would endure forever. 'Alice Liddell as The Beggar Maid' was, in short, the muse that would inspire the creation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Deftly engaging with Dogson's published writings, private diaries, and photography, Winchester weaves together the poignant, turbulent, and entirely fascinating story behind Lewis Carroll and the making of his Alice. Acclaim for Simon Winchester "An exceptionally engaging guideat home everywhere, ready for anything, full of gusto and seemingly omnivorous curiosity." --Pico Iyer, The New York Times Book Review "A master at telling a complex story compellingly and lucidly." --USA Today "Extraordinarily graceful." --Time "Winchester is an exquisite writer and a deft anecdoteur." --Christopher Buckley "A lyrical writer and an indefatigable researcher." --Newsweek"--
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