Alice in Wonderland

Publication history

Carroll first met Alexander Macmillan, a high-powered London publisher, on 19 October 1863.[13] His firm, Macmillan Publishers, agreed to publish Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by sometime in 1864.[67] Carroll financed the initial print run, possibly because it gave him more editorial authority than other financing methods.[67] He managed publication details such as typesetting and engaged illustrators and translators.[68]

Macmillan had published The Water-Babies, also a children's fantasy, in 1863, and suggested its design as a basis for Alice's.[69] Carroll saw a specimen copy in May 1865.[70] 2,000 copies were printed by July, but Tenniel objected to their quality, and Carroll instructed Macmillan to halt publication so they could be reprinted.[24][71] In August, he engaged Richard Clay as an alternative printer for a new run of 2,000.[72] The reprint cost £600, paid entirely by Carroll.[73] He received the first copy of Clay's reprint on 9 November 1865.[73]

Opening pages of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Macmillan Publishers, London

Macmillan finally published the revised first edition, printed by Richard Clay, in November 1865.[2][74] Carroll requested a red binding, deeming it appealing to young readers.[75][76] A new edition, released in December 1865 for the Christmas market but carrying an 1866 date, was quickly printed.[77][78] The text blocks of the original edition were removed from the binding and sold with Carroll's permission to the New York publishing house of D. Appleton & Company.[79] The binding for the Appleton Alice was identical to the 1866 Macmillan Alice, except for the publisher's name at the foot of the spine. The title page of the Appleton Alice was an insert cancelling the original Macmillan title page of 1865 and bearing the New York publisher's imprint and the date 1866.[2]

The entire print run sold out quickly. Alice was a publishing sensation, beloved by children and adults alike.[2] Oscar Wilde was a fan;[80] Queen Victoria was also an avid reader of the book.[81] She reportedly enjoyed Alice enough that she asked for Carroll's next book, which turned out to be a mathematical treatise; Carroll denied this.[82] The book has never been out of print.[2] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has been translated into 174 languages.[83]

Publication timeline

In 1907, the copyright on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland expired in the UK, entering the tale into the public domain. Since the story was intimately tied to the illustrations by Tenniel, new illustrated versions were then received with some significant objection by English reviewers.[84] In 2010, artist David Revoy received the CG Choice Award for his digital painting "Alice in Wonderland".

The following list is a timeline of major publication events related to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:

  • 1869: Published in German as Alice's Abenteuer im Wunderland, translated by Antonie Zimmermann.[85]
  • 1869: Published in French as Aventures d'Alice au pays des merveilles, translated by Henri Bué.[86]
  • 1870: Published in Swedish as Alice's Äventyr i Sagolandet, translated by Emily Nonnen.[87]
  • 1871: Carroll meets another Alice, Alice Raikes, during his time in London. He talks with her about her reflection in a mirror, leading to the sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, which sells even better.
  • 1872: Published in Italian as Le Avventure di Alice nel Paese delle Meraviglie, translated by Teodorico Pietrocòla Rossetti.[88]
  • 1886: Carroll publishes a facsimile of the earlier Alice's Adventures Under Ground manuscript.[89]
  • 1890: Carroll publishes The Nursery "Alice", an abridged version, around Easter.[90]
  • 1905: Mrs J. C. Gorham publishes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Retold in Words of One Syllable in a series of such books published by A. L. Burt Company, aimed at young readers.
  • 1906: Published in Finnish as Liisan seikkailut ihmemaailmassa, translated by Anni Swan.[85]
  • 1907: Copyright on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland expires in the UK, entering the tale into the public domain,[91][84] 42 years after its publication which in this case occurred some nine years after Carroll's death in January 1898.
  • 1910: Published in Esperanto as La Aventuroj de Alicio en Mirlando, translated by E. L. Kearney.[85]
  • 1915: Alice Gerstenberg's stage adaptation premieres.[92][93]
  • 1928: The manuscript of Alice's Adventures Under Ground written and illustrated by Carroll, which he had given to Alice Liddell, was sold at Sotheby's in London on 3 April. It was sold to Philip Rosenbach of Philadelphia for £15,400, a world record for the sale of a manuscript at the time; the buyer later presented it to the British Library (where the manuscript remains) as an appreciation for Britain's part in two World Wars.[94][95]
  • 1960: American writer Martin Gardner publishes a special edition, The Annotated Alice.[96]
  • 1988: Lewis Carroll and Anthony Browne, illustrator of an edition from Julia MacRae Books, win the Kurt Maschler Award.[97]
  • 1998: Carroll's own copy of Alice, one of only six surviving copies of the 1865 first edition, is sold at an auction for US$1.54 million to an anonymous American buyer, becoming the most expensive children's book (or 19th-century work of literature) ever sold to that point.[98]
  • 1999: Lewis Carroll and Helen Oxenbury, illustrators of an edition from Walker Books, win the Kurt Maschler Award for integrated writing and illustration.[66]
  • 2008: Folio publishes Alice's Adventures Under Ground facsimile edition (limited to 3,750 copies, boxed with The Original Alice pamphlet).
  • 2009: Children's book collector and former American football player Pat McInally reportedly sold Alice Liddell's own copy at auction for US$115,000.[99]

This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.