Return to Wonderland

It’s been a while – a long while- since I’ve read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but I still have fond memories of the madcap characters and quirkiness of the world created by Carroll.  And I guess these eleven authors do too!  For me, this fabulously written anthology takes me on a trip down memory lane, a nostalgic return to my childhood, but I think it will also be enjoyed as an anthology of incredibly imaginative stories by younger readers in its own right, and perhaps encourage them to explore Wonderland for the first time. 

I have read and enjoyed books by many of these authors and could definitely see how they bring their own style when re-imagining their favourite experiences/characters from Wonderland.   Each of these stories has perfectly captured the surrealistic eccentricity of Wonderland; the creativity each writer brought to their story leaps off the pages.  I also really liked how each author introduced their story with their own recollections of how they were influenced by Carroll’s story which was a perfect lead-in to each story.

These stories encourage the reader to tumble down the rabbit hole and wander into the curious world of Wonderland to encounter some of the most glorious, and most peculiar, characters:  the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, the Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat and the Knave of Hearts to name but a few, with Alice wandering through many of the stories. 

I loved how the stories paid homage to many of the more famous elements of  Wonderland such as the Queen of Heart’s obsession with croquet, the Mad Hatter’s tea party and the wisdom of the Caterpillar whilst exploring the untold stories, the ‘what happened next?’ and the ‘what ifs?’ of some of the most memorable characters.

Each and every one of these stories is a real delight!  This will be a collection of stories which will be treasured by both old, and new, fans of Wonderland.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an e-ARC of this book.