I am grateful to the publisher, Bodleian Library Publishing, for sending me a review copy so I can give you my honest opinion about this book by Peter Hunt!

According to the press release, the author of this book “combines historical insight with a guided tour of the city, revealing both well-known and lesser-known connections to the Alice books. From the hatters and marmalade makers on the High Street to the dodo displayed at the Museum of Natural History, Oxford’s streets, colleges, and landmark are woven into the fabric of Wonderland. […] The result is a unique blend of travel guide, history, and local culture – perfect for both Alice enthusiasts and those curious about Oxford’s rich literary heritage.”
The author tells us that “[m]any books about the ‘Alice’ books begin with the texts and extrapolate from them possible references to places and people in the real world; this book begins with the places, and traces their association with Dodgson, Carroll and both the Alices – real and fictional.”

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Several language specific studies of ‘Jabberwocky’ in translation have been published in the past. This publication, however, attempts to provide a broader comparative approach. With this 297 page ‘companion volume’, the authors provide insight into the translation history of the poem and make it possible to compare translation strategies and solutions between over 40 different languages. It is important to note however, that this is not a complete collection: the poem has been translated in many more languages, but they do not all appear in this publication.

The book is edited by Anna Kérchy, Kit Kelen and Björn Sundmark, and includes articles by many scholars, critics, translators and poems across the world. Each contributor focuses on one or a few critically and poetically interesting translations of ‘Jabberwocky’.

The book is part of the Malmö University Studies in Children’s Literature, Culture and Media series. It can be ordered as a paperback, but can also be downloaded in pdf format for free! You can download the entire book or one or more chapters individually: https://books.mau.se/catalog/book/264

After the Through the Looking Glass Sesquicentenary Conference that took place in 2021 in York (UK), a call for papers went out for a ‘companion’ publication to “Through the Looking-Glass”. Just as the conference had covered a broad range of aspects of the ‘Looking-Glass’ story, this companion’s objective would be to reflect the breadth of themes in the story, its cultural and adaptation history, and its ongoing relevance today.

It took several years, but the results of that call for papers have now finally been published in “Alice Through the Looking-Glass: A Companion”, edited by Franziska Kohlt and Justine Houyaux. The book consists of an impressive 516 pages and contains no less than 38 essays by 42 authors!

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