The Alice Behind Wonderland
Simon Winchester
Reviews and Awards
"Interesting, original and not unidirectional." - Anna Maria Polidori, Al Femminile
"As usual with Winchester, well-founded, witty and perceptive." - Kirkus
"Mr. Winchester's elegantly written study provides a balanced, sympathetic portrait of a complex and gifted man." - Wall Street Journal
"What Winchester offers that is new, largely, is a detailed explanation the nascent field of amateur Victorian photography. He meticulously tracks Dodgson's 1856 purchase of his first mahogany-and-brass folding camera. He carefully works through the history of the development of the camera, and explains the difference between the daguerreotype, the calotype, and the wet-plate collodion that Dodgson relied on." - Marjorie Kehe, The Christian Science Monitor
"In this very slim volume" - a nice break, for history lovers, from the trend toward doorstop-sized commitments
"Winchester provides a new perspective on the shy bachelor who wrote one of the world's most famous children's stories, while questioning the most recent scholarship that neglects the role of photography in Dodgson's life. An important addition to the burgeoning collection of Dodgson scholarship, this book will appeal to scholars and general readers and is recommended to all." - Library Journal
"With remarkable clarity and eloquence, Winchester uses this photograph as the focal point for an examination of the man behind Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." - Financial Times
