The Art of Alice in Wonderland (Hardcover)

by 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 Publishers; 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.com Sales Rank: #549,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 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

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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The title is misleading, November 27, 1999

By	Martha Mckie (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was disappointed as soon as I saw this book. I have just now, after several months, begun to look at it more closely.

At first, I thought that the art that was included in the book was from some kinds of modern cartoonish sources that didn't show the variety of assays made at this subject over the years. On second look, these are many many different applications, including advertising, which is interesting after all.

Also, I was disappointed to see that the book was filled with a breathy essay that was, as far as I could see, a superficial rehash of things I have read many times already. But, I see that it is more a discussion of the many venues that have taken the character images in "Alice" for inspiration. Still, the copy is very difficult to read because of graphic issues. I think this book might be a paean to Madison Avenue, etc. Not the usual voice one hears discussing our "beloved" Alice, but potentially a fresh angle.

But, in closing, the final disappointment, though the title of the book gives the art first billing (and the ruminations of our author no mention at all), all attributions as to the sources of the different representations are not captioned, nor are they in the body of the essay, but are in an appendix at the back of the book. Tacky.

11 of 12 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 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.