(Re)Visions: Alice

In 1865, an English author and scholar with an abiding interest in mathematics and logic published a tale originally told for the amusement of a friend's young daughter, Alice. The resulting novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was largely ignored at first, but then rapidly rose to fame, with such prominent admirers as Queen Victoria and Oscar Wilde; its nonsensical language and endearing characters have made it beloved of generations of children and adults alike, and the escapades of young Alice have inspired writers the world over. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has never gone out of print. With such universal appeal, it's no wonder that the quasi-logical tricks and banter of Wonderland have cast a long shadow on modern fantasy. Echoes of the Queen, the Cat, and others can be found in tales old and new, and the idea of falling into a strange, bewildering world is one of the favorite tropes used by authors of the fantastic. The (re)Visions series seeks to bring classic works of speculative fiction back into the modern consciousness, examining how tendrils of the fantastic spiral through all that we think and do, even decades after a work was penned. First, read Lewis Carroll's (extremely) original work; then, let your mind wander through the gardens and passages of Wonderland, guided by four very different modern authors. And don't forget your flamingo.