I'm not really upset over it. The truth was that I do get strangely interested in rare oddities. I try not to look, but it is very hard not to. I had a feeling of what I was getting into, and I ultimately was right about all of it. "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" is merely a truncated version of the book that was ultimately published 1865. There are only minor differences in the bits that are still there.
Characters, such as the Duchess, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat, were not implemented until later. What this story actually is is something of a gift to the real Alice Liddell, who would get her own personal copy. Interestingly, he was already working on the expanded version that we all know before she even received this copy.
For what the story is, it is fine. It works without all the other character, but I think we all can agree that the version that came out was much better. Because there are not really any big differences in this version, I can't really recommend it over "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," and that really is all I can do for this review.
So I suppose I can take a moment to jabber on about why I bother. I do spend a lot of time looking for obscure gems out there. Finding "Alice's Adventures Under Ground" was like discovering a little golden nugget nobody ever really talks about. Granted, I had heard of this book before, but it's not really something anyone really promotes or talks about much.
I like obscure things like this. You'd be surprised how many unknown books are out there that are actually good. If we stick with only the well-known books, we are actually missing out in life. I'm going to continue to look for stuff like this, and I'll let you know when I find a good one. For now, it's time to go back to a place I am well familiar with: Oz.
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This was the "rough draft" for what became the classical story. Of course the greater ideas came later. As a writer, my best ideas are typically afterthoughts. The original idea merely provided a context for other things to emerge.
ReplyDeleteI am happy I actually got to read it. it gives context to some stuff happening outside of its reality.
DeleteInteresting that the truncated version was published later, as a personal gift to Alice but also the fans. It's kind of cool to be able to see the rough draft to kind of get an idea of the Writer's process. One of my favorite things to do when I was in college was to search for obscure writings in the library, so I can relate to your love of these.
ReplyDeleteMan, I do that using the internet these days. Love it!
DeleteFinding a rare work is like digging for buried treasure. You may spend a long time digging, and have little to show for it. Yet, once you find a literary treasure all your effort is rewarded.
ReplyDeleteWorth it!
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