Alice in wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.  It tells about a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures. The tale plays with logic and it is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.

The story begins with Alice following the White Rabbit and suddenly falling in a deep rabbit hole which deduces her in a mysterious room with several closed doors. Through one of them she sees a beautiful garden, but she can't enter it, because the door is too small. Alice notices that eaten pies or mushrooms, and also drunk liquids lead to a change of her growth. As a result she almost drowns in the ocean of tears, into which she burst earlier. Then she almost breaks the house of the White Rabbit and finally turns up in a small house of the Duchess where Alice meets the Cheshire Cat. There Alice also finds out that Queen of Hearts arranges competitions in Croquet. Having visited Mad Tea Party at the March Hare’s and the Hatter’s, she nevertheless goes in the beautiful garden on game in croquet where all conceivable rules are broken: instead of sticks flamingo is used, instead of balls — hedgehogs, and the role of hoop is played by soldiers. The game gradually turns into an unfair tribunal over Jack who is suspected to have stolen tarts. During the court, at a critical moment when the characters turn into playing cards and pounced on her, Alice wakes up and understands that it all happened only in her dream.

Actually, the main heroine has a prototype. On 4 July 1862 Charles Dodgson rowed in a boat with the three young daughters of Henry Liddell: Lorina, Alice and Edith. During the trip the Reverend Dodgson told the girls a story that featured a bored little girl named Alice who goes looking for an adventure. The girls loved it, and Alice Liddell asked Dodgson to write it down for her. He did it and then sent a copy to a publishing house.

Probably the most popular character of this tale, known for his distinctive mischievous grin, is Cheshire Cat. It’s my favorite. A possible origin of the phrase "Grinning like a Cheshire Cat" is from the large number of dairy farms in Cheshire, hence the cats grin because of all the milk and cream that is available. This is the explanation most favored by the people of Cheshire.

A lot of quotes from the book became famous, like:

Alice

But then, shall I never get any older than I am now? That'll be a comfort, one way -- never to be an old woman -- but then -- always to have lessons to learn!

Alice

Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin; but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever say in my life!

Alice

Curiouser and curiouser!

The Duchess

If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.

Alice

If it had grown up, it would have made a dreadfully ugly child; but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think.

This book is considered to be one of the most difficult for translation - word-plays.