Part of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
First published 1864
Alice spots a White Rabbit checking his pocket watch and follows him down a rabbit hole into Wonderland. She finds herself in a place where nothing makes sense. Animals talk in riddles and mock her lessons from school. The Mock Turtle tells her about his education in Reeling, Writhing, and Arithmetic subjects like Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. Alice meets the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and other strange creatures who dismiss everything she learned in the world above. Each encounter grows more puzzling than the last. Alice tries to understand what her experiences mean, but they become curiouser and curiouser. The inhabitants of Wonderland reject traditional education and moral lessons at every turn. Alice wanders through this bewildering realm where logic fails and conventional rules disappear. For over 130 years, children have loved this story precisely because it refuses to teach them anything proper or sensible.
Genres: classic-literature, humor, adventure, fantasy, childrens-classics
Vibes: absurdist, dreamlike, imaginative, playful, whimsical
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water, journey-through-magical-realm
Setting: Wonderland, rabbit hole
Period: 19th-century, Victorian era
128 pages · Paperback · Dover Publications