The Art of Alice in Wonderland [Hardcover]

Stephanie Lovett Stoffel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-This collection of artists' interpretations of the events in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass will be of interest to students of graphic design as well as those intrigued with the wit and imagination of the stories. After an introduction to the 19th-century author's life and personality and background on the classic tales, eight chapters take readers into an analysis of such famous characters as the Red Queen, the White Knight, the Cheshire Cat, and others. The point is made that Carroll's concern was with the rambling plot and the personalities of his characters rather than with descriptions of physical appearance or scenic details. This led to varied interpretations by many illustrators from John Tenniel's original classic drawings in 1872 to those of Greg Hildebrant in the 1990s. The illustrations here are done by 20 artists, including Arthur Rackham, Gordon Robinson, and Bessie Pease Gutman. Unfortunately, readers must consult the section entitled "Illustration Credits" to identify the artist of each picture. A complete index, however, includes characters by name, enabling readers to compare various artists' renditions of the Frog Footman, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter, and all the rest. None of the Disney interpretations are included. Variations in age, hair coloring, and clothing styles make this an interesting book to peruse.
Frances Reiher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Smithmark Pub; 1 edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765191334
• ISBN-13: 978-0765191335
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,079,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT for the serious study of Alice illustrations, April 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Alice in Wonderland (Hardcover)

What a dissapointment this book was, having bought it online, I was unable to flip through it's pages first. If you want to seriously study the various illustrators of Alice, don't bother with this book.

First, none of the illustrations are captioned and you have to look up the credits in the back. Yet the foldout page with pictures of Alice from many illustrators is not credited at all, including a lovely image by Mabel Lucie Attwell (who's images do not appear any where else in the book.)Even the cover credits is missing one of the illustrators.

Secondly, one gets the feeling that many if not most of the images are cropped (many times in odd ways) for the sake of their precious layout. Others have touted the design of the book as being reflective of Alice's quirky world. I rather suspect the designer was trying to be trendy, with grunge-like fonts, color overlays on many of the illustrations and some used behind the text as backdrops. It just makes for difficult reading. I didn't even like the uncoated paper it was printed on.

And lastly, don't expect any discussion about the illustrations or the illustrators that created them. Even the great Tenniel himself was only alotted a paragraph or two. The only other discussion is on pages 80-81. Arthur Rackham was allowed a paragraph (and only one image) as well as Barry Moser, yet none of Moser's work was included in the book! Go figure.

If you really want to look at some lovely Alice images, you'd be better of with "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -A Classic Illustrated Edition" compiled by Cooper Edens. At least you get to see the whole image the way it was intended.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A very poor execution of a good idea., March 6, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Alice in Wonderland (Hardcover)

It is always a surprise to learn how many artists apart from John Teniel have illustrated Lewis Carroll's ALICE stories: an effort to put some of them together in a single volume is welcome. But regrettably, THE ART OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND represents a nifty idea gone wrong -- indeed, run amuck! The book's overblown, frenetic, garish, incoherent, irrational design is a severe irritant and makes it extremely difficult to follow and read the text, which, itself, is not bad. The quality of the color reproductions of the ALICE art is really dreadful: they're fuzzy and washed out. Furthermore, it's necessary to consult notes (thorough and well done) at the back of the book in order to identify particular artists -- always an irksome process. For the reasons cited, I have to give the work an F: only the most dedicated ALICE groupies need bother with it. This poor effort is uncharacteristic of Smithmark, which generally issues carefully executed, well-produded titles on unusual topics at very attractive prices.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and entertaining look at Alice's world, April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Alice in Wonderland (Hardcover)

This is the most stimulating, and fun book about Alice and her art that I have seen. Alice's topsy-turvy world and it's inhabitants are vividly depicted in a book layout that is similar to the shifting, colorful, and unexpected aspects of the art and the stories. I found it to be very informative and entertaining, and enjoyed the rich variety of interpretations different artists bring to these amazing stories.