Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a unique blend of fanciful adventure and dreamlike surrealism. The world of Wonderland has captured the imaginations of adults and children alike ever since Alice first fell down the rabbit hole in 1865. It is no wonder that after more than a century characters like the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts are still so distinct and unforgettable in the public mind. In her illustrations for Classics Reimagined, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland artist Andrea D’Aquino perfectly captures the whimsy of Alice’s wild dream world and its inhabitants. Take a look at her reimaginings of some familiar faces.
Alice
“Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage,not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway; “and even if my head would go through,” thought poor Alice, “it would be of very little use with-out my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope!I think I could, if I only knew how to begin.” For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.”
The White Rabbit
“There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself,“Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it.”
The Caterpillar
“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”
“What do you mean by that?” said the Caterpillar sternly. “Explain yourself!”
“I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, sir,” said Alice, “because I’m not myself, you see.”
“I don’t see,” said the Caterpillar.
“I’m afraid I can’t put it more clearly,” Alice replied very politely, “for I can’t understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.”
“It isn’t,” said the Caterpillar.
The Cheshire Cat
“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw round,“lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
The Mad Hatter and the March Hare
The Hatter was the first to break the silence. “What day of the month is it?” he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.
Alice considered a little, and then said “The fourth.”
“Two days wrong!” sighed the Hatter. “I told you butter would not suit the works!” he added, looking angrily at the March Hare.
“It was the best butter,” the March Hare meekly replied.
“Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,” the Hatter grumbled: “you shouldn’t have put it in with the bread-knife.”
The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, “It was the best butter, you know.”
The Queen of Hearts
“Let the jury consider their verdict,” the King said, for about the twentieth time that day.
“No, no!” said the Queen.“Sentence first—verdict after-wards.”
“Stuff and nonsense!” said Alice loudly. “The idea of having the sentence first!”
“Hold your tongue!” said the Queen, turning purple.
“I won’t!” said Alice.
“Off with her head!” the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody moved.
”Who cares for you?” said Alice (she had grown to her full size by this time). “You’re nothing but a pack of cards!”
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A modern and dazzling illustrated edition of a classic tale.
The Classics Reimagined series is a library of stunning collector’s editions of classic novels illustrated by contemporary artists from around the world. Each artist offers his or her own unique, visual interpretation of the most well-loved, widely read, and avidly collected literature from renowned authors. From Grimm’s Fairy Tales to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and from Edgar Allen Poe to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, art lovers and book collectors alike will not be able to resist owning the whole collection.
Enjoy Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as you’ve never seen it before! Andrea D’Aquino’s modern, illustrative interpretation of this classic tale follows Alice on her fanciful journey down the rabbit hole where she meets friends like the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar! The lush, multi-faceted images breathe new life into this classic novel, making it a collectible for book and art lovers every where.
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