''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

and the sequel to ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

'' (1865). Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic (for example, running helps one remain stationary, walking away from something brings one towards it, chessmen are alive, nursery rhyme characters exist, and so on). ''Through the Looking-Glass'' includes such verses as "

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The bo ...

" and "

The Walrus and the Carpenter "The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in his book ''Through the Looking-Glass'', published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. The poem is co ...

", and the episode involving

Tweedledum and Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There''. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The ...

. The mirror above the fireplace that is displayed at Hetton Lawn in

Charlton Kings Charlton Kings is a contiguous village adjoining Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England. The area constitutes a civil parish of 10,396 residents (2011). Landscape Charlton Kings is situated in the west foothills of the north-south Cotswol ...

, Gloucestershire (a house that was owned by

Alice Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip beca ...

's grandparents, and was regularly visited by Alice and Lewis Carroll) resembles the one drawn by

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and poli ...

and is cited as a possible inspiration for Carroll. It was the first of the "Alice" stories to gain widespread popularity, and prompted a newfound appreciation for its predecessor when it was published.

Plot summary

Chapter One – Looking-Glass House: Alice is playing with a white kitten (whom she calls "Snowdrop") and a black kitten (whom she calls "Kitty") when she ponders what the world is like on the other side of a mirror's reflection. Climbing up onto the

fireplace mantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ca ...

, she pokes at the wall-hung mirror behind the fireplace and discovers, to her surprise, that she is able to step through it to an alternative world. In this reflected version of her own house, she finds a book with looking-glass poetry, "

", whose reversed printing she can read only by holding it up to the mirror. She also observes that the

chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (chess ...

s have come to life, though they remain small enough for her to pick up. Aliceroom3

Chapter Two – The Garden of Live Flowers: Upon leaving the house (where it had been a cold, snowy night), she enters a sunny spring garden where the flowers can speak; they perceive Alice as being a "flower that can move about". Elsewhere in the garden, Alice meets the Red Queen, who is now human-sized, and who impresses Alice with her ability to run at breathtaking speeds. Chapter Three – Looking-Glass Insects: The Red Queen reveals to Alice that the entire countryside is laid out in squares, like a gigantic chessboard, and offers to make Alice a queen if she can move all the way to the eighth rank/row in a chess match. Alice is placed in the second rank as one of the White Queen's pawns, and begins her journey across the chessboard by boarding a train that jumps over the third row and directly into the fourth rank, thus acting on the rule that pawns can advance two spaces on their first move. She arrives in a forest where a depressed gnat teaches her about the looking glass insects, strange creatures part bug part object (e.g., bread and butterfly, rocking horse fly), before flying away sadly. Alice continues her journey and along the way, crosses the "wood where things have no names". There she forgets all nouns, including her own name. With the help of a fawn who has also forgotten his identity, she makes it to the other side, where they both remember everything. Realizing that he is a fawn, she is a human, and that fawns are afraid of humans, it runs off (to Alice's frustration). Tennieldumdee

Chapter Four – Tweedledum and Tweedledee: She then meets the fat twin brothers

, whom she knows from the

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

. After reciting the long poem "

", they draw Alice's attention to the Red King—loudly snoring away under a nearby tree—and maliciously provoke her with idle philosophical banter that she exists only as an imaginary figure in the Red King's dreams. Finally, the brothers begin suiting up for battle, only to be frightened away by an enormous crow, as the nursery rhyme about them predicts. Red King sleeping

Chapter Five – Wool and Water: Alice next meets the White Queen, who is very absent-minded but boasts of (and demonstrates) her ability to remember future events before they have happened. Alice and the White Queen advance into the chessboard's fifth rank by crossing over a brook together, but at the very moment of the crossing, the Queen transforms into a talking Sheep in a small shop. Alice soon finds herself struggling to handle the oars of a small rowboat, where the Sheep annoys her with (seemingly) nonsensical shouting about "

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

" and "

feathers Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

". Chapter Six – Humpty Dumpty: After crossing yet another brook into the sixth rank, Alice immediately encounters

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

, who, besides celebrating his

unbirthday An unbirthday (originally written un-birthday) is an event celebrated on all days of the year which are not a person's birthday. It is a neologism which first appeared in Lewis Carroll, Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass.'' The ...

, provides his own translation of the strange terms in "Jabberwocky". In the process, he introduces Alice to the concept of

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsChapter Seven – The Lion and the Unicorn: ''"All the king's horses and all the king's men"'' come to Humpty Dumpty's assistance, and are accompanied by the White King, along with

the Lion and the Unicorn The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. They are, properly speaking, heraldic supporters appearing in the full royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combinati ...

, who again proceed to act out a nursery rhyme by fighting with each other. In this chapter, the

March Hare The March Hare (called Haigha in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The main character, Alice, hypothesizes, : "T ...

and

Hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

of the first book make a brief re-appearance in the guise of "

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

messengers" called "Haigha" and "Hatta". Chapter Eight – "It's my own Invention": Upon leaving the Lion and Unicorn to their fight, Alice reaches the seventh rank by crossing another brook into the forested territory of the Red Knight, who is intent on capturing the "white pawn"—Alice—until the White Knight comes to her rescue. Escorting her through the forest towards the final brook-crossing, the Knight recites a long poem of his own composition called

Haddocks' Eyes "Haddocks' Eyes" is a song sung by The White Knight from Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', chapter VIII. "Haddocks' Eyes" is an example used to elaborate on the symbolic status of the concept of "name": a name as iden ...

, and repeatedly falls off his horse. Chapter Nine – Queen Alice: Bidding farewell to the White Knight, Alice steps across the last brook, and is automatically crowned a queen, with the crown materialising abruptly on her head (a reference to pawn promotion). She soon finds herself in the company of both the White and Red Queens, who relentlessly confound Alice by using

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

to thwart her attempts at logical discussion. They then invite one another to a party that will be hosted by the newly crowned Alice—of which Alice herself had no prior knowledge. Chapter Ten – Shaking: Alice arrives and seats herself at her own party, which quickly turns into chaos. Alice finally grabs the Red Queen, believing her to be responsible for all the day's nonsense, and begins shaking her. Chapter Eleven – Waking: Alice awakes in her armchair to find herself holding the black kitten, who she deduces to have been the Red Queen all along, with the white kitten having been the White Queen. Chapter Twelve – Which dreamed it?: The story ends with Alice recalling the speculation of the Tweedle brothers, that everything may have been a dream of the Red King, and that Alice might herself be no more than a figment of ''his'' imagination. The book ends with the line "Life, what is it but a dream?"

Characters

Main characters

* Alice *

The Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Ca ...

* Red King * Red Queen *

The Sheep The Sheep is a character (arts), character, created by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a.k.a. Lewis Carroll. It appeared in Dodgson's 1871 book, ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to his 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.'' Stor ...

* White King * White Knight * White Queen *

The Lion and the Unicorn The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. They are, properly speaking, heraldic supporters appearing in the full royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combinati ...

Minor characters

Symbolism

Mirrors

One of the key motifs of ''Through the Looking-Glass'' is that of mirrors, including the use of opposites, time running backwards, and so on, not to mention the title of the book itself. In fact, the themes and settings of the book make it somewhat of a

mirror image A mirror image (in a plane mirror) is a reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical effect it results from reflection off from substances ...

to its predecessor, ''

'' (1865). The first book begins in the warm outdoors, on 4 May;During the "Mad Tea-Party", Alice reveals that the date is "the fourth" and that the month is "May" (chap.7). uses frequent changes in size as a

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing ...

; and draws on the imagery of playing cards. The second book, however, opens indoors on a snowy, wintry night exactly six months later, on 4 November (the day before

Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the ev ...

);In the first chapter, Alice speaks of the snow outside and the "bonfire" that "the boys" are building for a celebration "to-morrow," a clear reference to the traditional bonfires of

that take place on 5 November. In Chapter 5, she affirms that her age is "seven and a half exactly." uses frequent changes in time and spatial directions as a plot device; and draws on the imagery of

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

Chess

While the first ''Alice'' novel took playing cards as a theme, ''Through the Looking-Glass'' instead used chess; most of the main characters are represented by chess pieces, with Alice being a

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

. The looking-glass world consists of square fields divided by brooks or streams, and the crossing of each brook typically signifies a change in scene, with Alice advancing one square. At the book's beginning, Carroll provided and explained a

chess composition A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to ...

with

descriptive notation Descriptive notation is a chess notation system based on abbreviated natural language. Its distinctive features are that it refers to files by the piece that occupies the back rank square in the starting position and that it describes each square ...

, corresponding to the events of the story. Although the piece movements follow the rules of chess, other basic rules are ignored: one player (White) makes several consecutive moves while the (Red/Black) opponent's moves are skipped, and a late

check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * ''The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld'' Games and sports * Check (chess), a thr ...

(12... Qe8+) is left undealt with. Carroll also explained that certain items listed in the composition do not have corresponding piece moves but simply refer to the story, e.g. the "castling of the three Queens, which is merely a way of saying that they entered the palace". Despite these liberties, the final position is an authentic

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

. The most extensive treatment of the chess motif in Carroll's novel was made by

Glen Downey Glen Downey (born 20 September 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1997 to 2007. He notably played in the Football League for Grimsby Town, having also had spells with Hartlepool United, Bishop A ...

in his master's thesis, later expanded and incorporated into his dissertation on the use of chess as a device in Victorian fiction. In the former piece, Downey gave the composition's moves in algebraic notation: 1... Qh5 2. d4 3. Qc4 4. Qc5 5. d5 6. Qf8 7. d6 8. Qc8 9. d7 Ne7+ 10. Nxe7 11. Nf5 12. d8=Q Qe8+ 13. Qa6 14. Qxe8#. In the latter piece, Downey treated the 21 items in the composition sequentially, identifying the above 16 coherent chess moves, and another five items as "non-moves" or pure story descriptors, per Carroll's qualification. The mating position nearly satisfies the conditions of a pure mate, a special type of checkmate where the mated king is prevented from moving to any of the adjacent squares in its

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

by exactly one enemy attack, among other conditions. The position is also nearly an

ideal mate In chess, an ideal mate is a checkmate position that is a special form of model mate. While in a model mate, each piece on the mating player's side (possibly excluding the king and pawns depending on context) participates in the mate, an id ...

, a stronger form of pure mate in which every piece on the board of either color contributes to the checkmate. The one feature of the position which prevents it from being either a pure or an ideal mate is that the Red (Black) King is unable to move to e3 for two reasons: the knight's attack, and the (sustained) attack of the newly promoted, mating queen. Although pure and ideal mates are "incidental" in real games, they are objects of

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

interest to

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Classical music, Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. E ...

of chess problems.

Language

The White Queen offers to hire Alice as her lady's maid and to pay her "twopence a week, and jam every other day". Alice says that she doesn't want any jam today, to which the Queen replies, "you couldn't have it if you ''did'' want it. The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterdaybut never jam ''to-day''." This is a reference to the rule in Latin that the word ''iam'' or ''jam—''which means ''now'', in the sense of ''already'' or ''at that time''—cannot be used to describe ''now'' in the present, which is ''nunc'' in Latin. Therefore, "''jam''" is never available today. This exchange is also a demonstration of the logical fallacy of

equivocation In logic, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word/expression in multiple senses within an argument. It is a type of ambiguity that stems from a phrase havin ...

Poems and songs

Most poems and songs of the book do not include a title. * "Introduction" (prelude; "Child of the pure unclouded brow…") * "

"See "Jabberwocky" full poem including readings, via Wikisource. Carroll, Lewis. 1897

872 Year 872 ( DCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sancho III Mitarra (or ''Menditarra'') becomes the founder and first 'king' of the indepe ...

''Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There''. Philadelphia:

Henry Altemus Company The Henry Altemus Company was a publishing company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for almost a century, from 1842 to 1936. History The firm started as a bookbindery. In 1863, Altemus was awarded a patent for a particular type of binding f ...

. * "

" * "

"See "Walrus and the Carpenter" full poem, via Wikisource. * "

" * Humpty Dumpty's poem ("In Winter when the fields are white…") * "

" * "

" (i.e., "A-sitting on a Gate") * Red Queen's

lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...

("Hush-a-by lady, in Alice's lap…") * " To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said…" * White Queen's riddle ("'First, the fish must be caught'…") * " A boat beneath a sunny sky"(postlude;

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...

poem in which putting the beginning letters of each line spell

Alice Pleasance Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip beca ...

, the girl after whom the book's Alice is named).

The Wasp in a Wig

Lewis Carroll decided to suppress a scene involving what was described as "a wasp in a wig" (possibly a play on the commonplace expression "bee in the bonnet"). A biography of Carroll, written by Carroll's nephew, Stuart Dodgson Collingwood, suggests that one of the reasons for this suppression was a suggestion from his illustrator,

, who wrote in a letter to Carroll dated 1 June 1870: For many years, no one had any idea what this missing section was or whether it had survived. In 1974, a document purporting to be the

galley proof In printing and publishing, proofs are the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and proofreaders, often with extra-wide margins. Galley proofs may be uncut and unbound, or in some cases electronically tran ...

s of the missing section was auctioned at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

; the catalogue description, in part, read, "the proofs were bought at the sale of the author's…personal effects…Oxford, 1898". The document would be won by John Fleming, a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

book dealer, for a bid of about . The contents were subsequently published in

Martin Gardner Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of Lewis ...

's '' More Annotated Alice'' (1990), and are also available as a hardback book.'' The rediscovered section describes Alice's encounter with a wasp wearing a yellow wig, and includes a full previously unpublished poem. If included in the book, it would have followed, or been included at the end of, Chapter 8the chapter featuring the encounter with the White Knight. The discovery is generally accepted as genuine, but the proofs have yet to receive any physical examination to establish age and authenticity. The missing episode was included in the 1998 TV film adaptation ''

Alice through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

''.

Dramatic adaptations

The book has been adapted several times, both in combination with ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and as a stand-alone feature.

Stand-alone adaptations

* ''Alice Through a Looking Glass'' (1928), a

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...

directed by

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a movie studio, film production company. The ...

, would be one of the earliest stand-alone adaptations of the book. * A dramatised audio-recorded version, directed by

Douglas Cleverdon Thomas Douglas James Cleverdon (17 January 1903 – 1 October 1987) was an English radio producer and bookseller. In both fields he was associated with numerous leading cultural figures. Personal life He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and ...

, was released in 1959 by

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Arg ...

. The book is narrated by

Margaretta Scott Margaretta Mary Winifred ScottBrian McFarlane, "Scott, Margaretta Mary Winifred (1912–2005)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Jan 201available online Retrieved 30 August 2020. (13 February 1912 – 15 Apri ...

, starring

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

as Alice, along with actors Frank Duncan (Humpty Dumpty, Red King, Frog),

Tony Church James Anthony Church (11 May 1930 – 25 March 2008) was an English actor, who has appeared on stage and screen. In 1989 he became the Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory, which is the teaching arm of the Denver Center Theatre Company in ...

Norman Shelley Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 21 August 1980) was a British actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's '' Children's Hour''. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera ''T ...

, and

Carleton Hobbs Carleton Percy Hobbs, OBE (18 June 1898 – 31 July 1978) was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations in a series of Sherlock Holmes radio dramas (1952–1969), ...

. * ''

Alice Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' (1966) was a

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

TV musical special, first airing on 6 November. The special includes music by Moose Charlap, and stars

Ricardo Montalban Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

, and the

Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers are Thomas ("Tom" – born February 2, 1937) and Richard ("Dick" – born November 20, 1938), American folk singers, musicians, and comedians. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on acoustic gu ...

, along with Judi Rolin in the role of Alice. * ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' (1973) is a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

TV movie, directed by

James MacTaggart James MacTaggart (25 April 1928 – 29 May 1974) was a Scottish television producer, director and writer. He worked in London from 1961. Early life MacTaggart was born in Glasgow and served in the Royal Army Service Corps from 1946, rising to ...

and starring

Sarah Sutton Sarah Sutton (born 12 December 1961) is a British actress. She played the role of Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Early life Sutton was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Sutton studied ballet a ...

as Alice. * ''Alice in the Land in the Other Side of the Mirror'' (1982) is a 38-minute Soviet cutout-animated TV film produced by Kievnauchfilm studio and directed by Yefrem Pruzhanskiy. Despite its translated name, the film's original, Russian title is '. * ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' (1987) is an animated TV movie starring

Janet Waldo Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from '' B ...

as the voice of Alice, as well as the voices of

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his ...

as the Jabberwock,

Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. Beginning in 1960, Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label. He also h ...

, and

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and e ...

. * ''

'' (1998) is a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

TV movie, starring

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

as the role of Alice, which restored the lost "Wasp in a Wig" episode. * A 2-hour multimedia stage production (2007), conceived by Andy Burden, was produced by the Tobacco Factory. The show would be directed by Burden and written by

Hattie Naylor Hattie Naylor is an English playwright. Her 2009 ''Ivan and the Dogs'' won the Tinniswood Award for original radio drama and was nominated in the 2010 Olivier Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre. It has since been developed into a film ...

, with music and lyrics by Paul Dodgson. * ''

Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' (2008) was a

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...

composed by

Alan John Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as ''Holding the Man'', ''Three Dollars'' and ...

to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Andrew Upton Andrew Upton (born 1 February 1966) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter and director. He has adapted the works of Gorky, Chekhov, Ibsen and others for London's Royal National Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company. He wrote the original p ...

. * ''

'' (2016), directed by

James Bobin James Bobin is a British filmmaker. He worked as a director and writer on ''Da Ali G Show'' and helped create the characters of Ali G, Borat, and Brüno. With Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, he co-created '' Flight of the Conchords''. He ...

, is a sequel to the Tim-Burton-directed Disney reboot ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' (2010). It does not follow the plot of the book. * The

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

show ''Saturday Drama'' broadcast an adaptation by

Stephen Wyatt Stephen Wyatt, born 4 February 1948 in Beckenham, Kent (now Greater London), is a British writer for theatre, radio and television. Early life and education Wyatt was raised in Ealing, West London. He was educated at Latymer Upper School and ...

on 22 December 2011. The broadcast featured Lewis Carroll, voiced by

Julian Rhind-Tutt Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt (born 20 July 1967) is an English actor, best known for playing Dr "Mac" Macartney in the comedy television series ''Green Wing'' (2004–2006). Early life Rhind-Tutt was born in West Drayton, Middlesex, the youngest o ...

, as both the narrator and an active character in the story. Other actors include Lauren Mote (Alice),

Carole Boyd Carole Boyd is a British actress. She has had a career in theatre, television, and radio, and plays Lynda Snell MBE in BBC Radio 4's ''The Archers''. Career Boyd trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, where she won the principa ...

(Red Queen),

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as T ...

(White Queen),

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...

(Humpty-Dumpty), Alistair McGowan (Tweedledum & Tweedledee), and John Rowe (White Knight).

Adaptations with ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''

Film and TV

* ''

'' (1933) is a

pre-code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

live-action film directed by Norman Z. McLeod, with

Charlotte Henry Charlotte Virginia Henry (March 3, 1914 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in '' Alice in Wonderland'' (1933) and '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). She also starred in the Frank Buck serial ''Jun ...

in the role of Alice, along with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

, and others. Despite the title, the film features most elements from ''Through the Looking Glass'' as well, including Humpty Dumpty (played by

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...

) and a

Harman-Ising Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were an American animation team known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios. Early history Harman and Ising first worked in animation in the early 1920s at Laugh-O-Gram Studio, ...

animated version of "

". * The animated ''

'' (1951) is the 13th animated feature film of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and the most famous among all direct adaptions of Carroll's work. The film features several elements from ''Through the Looking-Glass'', including the talking flowers, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, and "The Walrus and the Carpenter". * ''

'' (1972), a musical film starring

Fiona Fullerton Fiona Elizabeth Fullerton (born 10 October 1956) is a British actress and singer, known for her role as Alice in the 1972 film ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and as Bond girl KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film ''A View to a ...

as Alice, includes the twins Fred and Frank Cox as Tweedledum & Tweedledee. * ("In the World of Alice") is a 1974 Italian TV series that covers both novels, particularly ''Through the Looking-Glass'' in episodes 3 and 4. * ''

'' (1985) is a two-part TV musical produced by

Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen, June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film gen ...

that covers both books, and stars

Natalie Gregory Natalie Lynn Gregory is an American former child actress. Career She starred as Alice in the 1985 television film ''Alice in Wonderland''. Gregory is the youngest actress (age 9 years when she filmed the miniseries) to have played the role in ...

as Alice. In this adaptation, the Jabberwock materialises into reality after Alice reads "Jabberwocky", pursuing her throughout the second half of the musical. * ''Fushigi no Kuni no Arisu'' (1985; ') is an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation of the two novels in which later episodes adhere more closely with ''Through the Looking Glass''. * ''

'' (1999), a made-for-TV

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...

film with

Tina Majorino Albertina Marie Majorino (; born February 7, 1985) is an American film and television actress. She started her career as a child actor, starring in films such as ''Andre (film), Andre'', ''When a Man Loves a Woman (film), When a Man Loves a Woma ...

as Alice, uses elements from ''Through the Looking Glass'', such as the talking flowers, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, and "The Walrus and the Carpenter", as well as the chess theme, including the snoring Red King and White Knight. * '' Alice'' (2009) is a

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

TV miniseries that contains elements from both novels. * ''

'' (2010), directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

, is a live-action Disney reboot that follows Alice at an adult age, containing elements from both books.

Stage productions

* ''Alice in Concert'' (1980), also known as ''Alice at the Palace'', was a production written and produced by

Elizabeth Swados Elizabeth Swados (February 5, 1951 – January 5, 2016) was an American writer, composer, musician, and theatre director. Swados received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Origin ...

. Performed on a bare stage, the production starred

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

in the role of Alice, with additional supporting cast by

Mark Linn-Baker Mark Linn-Baker (born June 17, 1954) is an American actor and director who played Benjy Stone in the film ''My Favorite Year'' and Larry Appleton in the television sitcom '' Perfect Strangers''. Early life and education Mark Linn-Baker was bo ...

and

Betty Aberlin Betty Aberlin (born Betty Kay Ageloff; December 30, 1942) is an American actress, poet, and writer. She is best known as Lady Aberlin on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', a role she played for the entirety of the show's 33-year run. Life and c ...

. * ''Lookingglass Alice'' (2007) was an

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

interpretation of both novels, produced by the Lookingglass Theater Company, that performed in New York City,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and Chicago, with a version of the show touring the rest of the United States. * A 2-part production by

Iris Theatre Iris Theatre is a professional theatre company created in 2007 by Dr. Daniel Winder to produce work at St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden. It is particularly known for its outdoor productions which run throughout the summer months, playing to au ...

in London was staged in the summer of 2013, in which the second part consisted of ''Through the Looking-Glass''. Both parts included Laura Wickham in the role of Alice. * ''Alice'' (2010), written by Laura Wade, was a modern adaptation of both books that premiered at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2010. * '' Wonder.land'' (2015), a live musical by

Moira Buffini Moira Buffini (born 29 May 1965) is an English dramatist, director, and actor. Early life Buffini was born in Cheshire to Irish parents, and attended St Mary's College at Rhos-on-Sea in Wales as a day girl. She studied English and Drama at Gold ...

and

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

, takes some characters from the second novel, notably Dum and Dee and Humpty Dumpty, while the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen are merged into one character. * ''Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass'' (2001) was a stage adaption by

Adrian Mitchell Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's C ...

for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, in which the second act consists of ''Through the Looking-Glass.'' * '' Alice's Adventures Under Ground'' (2020), a one-act

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

written in 2016 by Gerald Barry and first staged at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, is a conflation of the two novels. * Looking-Glass, a 1982 Off-Broadway play based on Charles Dodgson, the real-life name of author Lewis Carroll

Other

*''

'' (1977) is a film that expands the story of the poem "Jabberwocky". *''

Thru the Mirror ''Thru the Mirror'' is a Mickey Mouse cartoon short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists in 1936. In this cartoon short, Mickey has a ''Through the Looking-Glass''-type dream that he travels through his mirror ...

'' (1936) is a

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

short film in which Mickey travels through his mirror and into a bizarre world. *''

Donald in Mathmagic Land ''Donald in Mathmagic Land'' is a 1959 American animated-live-action featurette produced by Walt Disney Productions and featuring Donald Duck. The short was directed by Hamilton Luske (with Wolfgang Reitherman, Les Clark, and Joshua Meador as se ...

'' (1959) is a film that includes a segment with

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

dressed as Alice meeting the Red Queen on a chessboard. *''

American McGee's Alice ''American McGee's Alice'' is a 2000 third-person action-adventure video game developed by Rogue Entertainment under the direction of designer American McGee and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Games banner. The game was originally re ...

'' (2000) is a computer game in which the player takes the role of a teenage Alice fighting to reclaim her sanity. It was followed by a sequel, '' Alice: Madness Returns'', in 2011. *''Through the Looking-Glass'' (2011) was a ballet by American composer

John Craton John Douglas Craton (born August 6, 1953) is an American classical composer. His works have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. While his compositions cover a diverse range, he is best known for his operas, ballets, and ...

. *''Through the Zombie Glass'' (2013) is a book by

Gena Showalter Gena Showalter (born 1975 in Oklahoma) is an American author in the genres of contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and young adult. Showalter sold her first book at the age of 27, and has published over 70 books. She has been named by ''Th ...

References

Footnotes

Citations

Other sources

* * *

External links

* *
A catalogue of illustrated editions of the Alice books from 1899 to 2009The Lewis Carroll Society UK
;Online texts * * * * {{Authority control Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 1872 British novels 1870s children's books 1872 fantasy novels British children's books Victorian novels Children's fantasy novels British children's novels Works by Lewis Carroll Books illustrated by John Tenniel Macmillan Publishers books Sequel novels Novels about chess Surreal comedy British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into television shows 1872 in the United Kingdom Novels set in fictional countries

Plot summary

Characters

Main characters

Minor characters

Symbolism

Mirrors

Chess

Language

Poems and songs

The Wasp in a Wig

Dramatic adaptations

Stand-alone adaptations

Adaptations with ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''

Film and TV

Stage productions

Other

See also

References

Footnotes

Citations

Other sources

External links