Alice in Wonderland Complete Text

By Lewis Carroll

One day Alice follows a rabbit into a large hole under the hedge, and a magical adventure begins. She meets the Mad Hatter and the March Hare at an unconventional tea party, the mysterious Cheshire Cat in the woods, and other enchanting characters. Discover the extraordinary world of Wonderland in Lewis Carroll’s classic novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 8, 2010
• ISBN: 9780062023315

Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), was an English writer, mathematician, logician, deacon and photographer. He is most famous for his timeless classics, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. His work falls within the genre of 'literary nonsense', and he is renowned for his use of word play and imagination. Carroll's work has been enjoyed by many generations across the globe.

Book preview

1

Down the Rabbit Hole

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, and what is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a white rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late! (When she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural.) But when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat pocket or a watch to take out of it; and, burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit hole under the hedge.

In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.

The rabbit hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.

Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her, and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything. Then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and bookshelves: here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labeled ORANGE MARMALADE, but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.

Well! thought Alice to herself, after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they’ll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house! (Which was very likely true.)

Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? I wonder how many miles I’ve fallen by this time? she said aloud. I must be getting somewhere near the center of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think— (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) —yes, that’s about the right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I’ve got to? (Alice had not the slightest idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but she thought they were nice grand words to say.)

Presently she began again. "I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny it’ll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards! The Antipathies, I think—" (she was rather glad there was no one listening, this time, as it didn’t sound at all the right word) —but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma’am, is this New Zealand or Australia? (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke—fancy curtseying as you’re falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?) And what an ignorant little girl she’ll think me for asking! No, it’ll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere.

Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking again. Dinah’ll miss me very much tonight, I should think! (Dinah was the cat.) I hope they’ll remember her saucer of milk at teatime. Dinah, my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I’m afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that’s very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder? And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? and sometimes, Do bats eat cats? for, you see, as she couldn’t answer either question, it didn’t much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and was saying to her very earnestly, Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat? when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.

Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting! She was close behind it when she turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.

There were doors all around the hall, but they were all locked, and when Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get out again.

Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it but a tiny golden key, and Alice’s first idea was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time around, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!

Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway; "and even if my head would go through, thought poor Alice, it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin." For, you see,

Reviews for Alice in Wonderland Complete Text

[virago77 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An Exercise in Insanity

This book was insane. The adventures she had and the creatures she met...It all sounded like what a bad acid trip would be like.

I'm honestly not sure I enjoyed it. This may require a re-read in the future.

[mrscoleman17 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At first I thought that this was a story that I would love to read to my children. However, after reading this I am not so sure. There were times when I laughed at the child-like humor and then there were times when I was just like what? Some of the logic and the tales told in this story were hard to follow, so I am pretty sure it would be hard for children as well. I do understand the moral behind the story though. If you ever need to take a step back from stressful everyday life then this may be the story for you.

[jon1lambert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book that i assumed i had read in full. I knew all about the Mad Hatter and the dormouse and the March Hare. But I hadn't read it before. What a joy it was to read it in full and learn that Alice's cat was not the Cheshire Cat but Dinah and that a caterpillar smoked a hookah. Lovely little pocket edition too.

[kassilem · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have this long list of books from BBC of the best literary books to read that I plan on going through. Most of the books on the list are books that I have heard others talking about for years. They are the classics that I feel I must read eventually to know anything about what is being said about them, and have something of my own to comment. This book was on the list. I’ve seen the Disney animation years ago and so that was what I was going off of for expectations. While it had its many differences as movies versus books are bound to have, it was at its core, the same – a little weird. I sort of enjoyed listening o the book but I was left with the feeling I had after watching the movie – what a curious story. Yet maybe the whole idea was about a child’s imagination? I’m not sure. I do know that not much of the book made sense and yet that seemed to be the intent. As said in the summary this is a ‘brilliant use of nonsense’. But the book isn’t very long and while nonsensical, it is still a bit enjoyable.

[thereadingmermaid · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to review 2 books at once. I loved the first book. But I was not impressed with the second. Like many, I've been spoiled by movies so I was very disappointed to find out the Jabberwocky was just a poem. I was also surprised at how young Alice truly is in the books. All-in-all was an interesting read.

[jasonlf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I won't even try to write a review. Just to say not sure why I haven't read this for at least fifteen years.

[tnilsson_24 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is not one of my favorite books. But this edition has really marvelous graphics that improve upon the story. If you like this book, this edition would certainly be worth adding to your collection as it is beautiful.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is an enjoyable read for all years from 2 to 99 years old. It is a fantastic and fun read and should be read to children and grandchildren and handed down from generation to generation. Reading it as an adult, the symbolism is very noticeable in the narration. If you haven't read Alice before, you should not hesitate as it should not be missed!

[joririchardson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book long ago while in middle school, and viewed it as simply a silly and nonsensical children's fantasy.However, I just re-read it, having become aware that this book is famous for it's allegoric philosophical and mathematical conceptions.The unbelievable, child like fantasy world of Wonderland is charming, and filled with things such as lakes made of tears, Mad Hatters, the Queen of Hearts, rabbit holes, and clocks that don't tell time.However, while this aspect is what meets the readers eye upon a first, cursory impression, this intricate book has far more depth, if you care to look.There is a strong sense of logic - almost in a satirical fashion, through-out the book. The concept of limit, inverse relationships, and mathematical logic is scattered through the plot, but mainly and most noticeably found at the Mad Tea Party and the first scene with the Cheshire Cat.Whether you care to look deeply into it, or simply leave "Alice in Wonderland" as a unique and inventive children's fantasy, this book is amazing!

[csmith109 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion this is a good picture book. The illustrations really enhance the story and make the reader believe they are in the story.The illustrations really fit the storyline and are filled with great detail! The front cover is a perfect example. On the cover is Alice, the rabbit, mad hater, the cheshire cat, the liquid that makes Alice get big and small, and the caterpillar! Before even reading this story, the reader is curious to see what is going to happen in the story that bring about all these add creatures. Another aspect of the book that i really enjoyed was the language. Throughout this piece of literature, descriptive language is used to help make the reader feel as if they are actually in the story. ""Oh, my ears and whiskers! The Queen will be angry," it said, and hurried off. Alice wanted to see what would happen to it: so she ran and ran, ti; she found herself tumbling down through a rabbit hole after it." When reading this I picture the rabbit with a worried expression on his face and Alice chasing after him. I also see Alice tripping on a tree root and falling into a rabbits hole. Along with the detailed illustrations, this passage makes the reader feel as if they are there watching. The big idea of this story is that dreaming is an amazing and wonderful thing where your imagination can run free.

[rbeene-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful story. This is my sisters favorite like OZ is mine.

[Michelle Eugenio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thrilling and Diverting. Sometimes Alice gets into weird situations!

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a fun book. Not that race makes a difference but I do like that Alice in this book is of "color". Alice in Wonderland is a classic and favorite story of mine. I was on the journey from the beginning to the end with Alice. Young readers will have an enjoyable time looking at the pictures as well as reading this book. Parents will want to check out all of the books in this line by Penguin.

[skavlanj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I feel that I have already read both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and simply forgotten. The introduction to my Bantam Classic copy provides the background of how the books came to be written from stories told to the actual Alice and her sisters, greatly enhancing the reading experience because you can picture it in the structure of both books. It also contains the original illustrations.

Where Alice comes across primarily as a whimsical tale told in reaction to the surrounding scenery and the reactions of the girls as Carroll entertained them on a Sunday afternoon, Through the Looking Glass feels embedded with life lessons as Alice makes her way across an imaginary landscape, overcoming various tests and tribulations (much like growing up). The physical representations of the fording of streams within the narrative feels particularly like goals accomplished and rewards given.

Both books succeed because of the obvious interplay between two worlds, with Alice the child unintendedly displaying her limited understanding of the rules and manners of the adult world through the illogical, ironical characters she meets. The tyrannical Red Queen. The ever-late White Rabbit. Tweedledee and Tweedledum and their long tale "The Walrus and the Carpenter," who graciously take all the young oysters out for a walk and a talk; only in the poem's final sentence do we learn that the gallant heroes have actually "eaten every one" (an admonition, perhaps, not to trust seemingly helpful adults?). My favorite chapter, "The Lion and the Unicorn," relates Alice's interactions with the King as he incessantly takes Alice's words literally. When she tells him she sees nobody on the road, he is envious of her vision to see an actual Nobody who is out of the King's range. When his messenger tells him nobody is faster than he, the King contradicts him, saying that obviously Nobody is not swifter, else he would already have arrived with the message.

While the jacket blurb implies deeper meanings hidden within Alice—"a satire on language [and] political allegory"—I think the entire story is simply an educated man's amusement told to a friend's daughters, influenced and embellished by his adult awareness of the gap between his world and theirs.

* - I have posted the same review for each book, seeing how, for me at least, it is difficult to separate the two or read only one.

[andjhostet-527429 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Classic story, and one I decided to revisit as an adult. Some of the leaps in logic are just hilariously absurd. The characters are fantastic, and super memorable. I absolutely loved everything related to the Cheshire Cat and the Caterpillar.

For as short as the book is, there did seem to be some filler at times. The whole bit with the Mockturtle annoyed me, and I didn't care for a lot of the poems and stories.

I listened to this one as an audiobook, and I think it may have diminished some of my enjoyment of it. Sometimes the words are laid out on page in a certain, clever way which was lost on this format. I also believe my comprehension is quite a bit lower when listening. I plan on returning to this in book format and I may update my rating.

[jonbrammer-788089 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've done a cursory glance at the criticism of Alice - and it seems that there are layers of symbolism here, a bit of a literary puzzle to dissect. It's at turns clever, caustic, and surreal. None of this means it's any good. Perhaps I'm having the same trouble with this as with Harry Potter - Alice is clearly written for young people, and making sense or having a narrative structure are not high priorities for Carroll.

Is this experimental fiction? It's full of non sequiturs verging on stream of consciousness. I think it possibly captures the mental states of both the adult on hallucinogens and the seven year old child. There's some heavy-handed symbolism related to coming-of-age. Carroll is a bit obsessed with the bodies of young girls. But it's quite possible that whatever drugs Carroll was taking helped him capture the surrealism and randomness of a child's consciousness.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

2023 reread:

It's been years since I last read this book - I had forgotten how short it is! While my memory of Alice's adventures was clear, I had forgotten her sister entirely.

[mykl8s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Together with Through the Looking Glass, I've read Lewis Carroll many times. The early illustrations, by Tenniel, are often ugly, but still give a better feel to the story than the Disney film. The Jabberwocky remains a favorite poem, demonstrating the difference between the feel of a poem and its sense. There are many levels in this book.

[threadnsong · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An abridged but marvelous re-telling of this story. It shows a smart girl in a green pinafore with an apron who strives to make sense of an uncertain world. She is courageous and undaunted. And the illustrations are soft and sweet, a contrast to the satire and confusing themes in the original.

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good as always!

[Austin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is hard to believe that I never finished reading this the first time I picked it up, many years ago.

A swell adventure in Imagination and childhood spirit.

[kjc__ · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a tale that follows a girl as she trips down a rabbit hole and experiences a dream-like, really surreal world. I read the copy from Standard Ebooks. It has the original illustrations, which are beautiful. I'm going to read its sequel—Through the Looking-Glass—very, very soon.

[amcheri-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was fun and bizarre and I'm happy I read it.

[bbbart-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What a strange little story this is. I am happy I read it in this beautiful rendition of Collector's Editions, which included the original title (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and the beautiful, original illustrations by John Tenniel.

It being a great example of nonsensical literature actually doesn't help my appreciation of it, I'm afraid. Even though one can venture off and find many upon many interpretations of various scenes and characters in the story, I found that my attention was never completely captured, as there was no real storyline to begin with. Quite the contrary actually, as everything that Alice tries, fails, everybody she encounters works against her, and there is no clear goal to pursue.

Still, the prose is beautiful, the poems are great and I understand how many of the scenes have become part of our collective culture over the last century.

Perhaps it's a must-read, since it's a seminal work by a brilliant author, but it didn't resonate so much with me as I'd hoped.

[g_reccomends · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is a classic but i really didn't enjoy it very much.

[tnaewwf123 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Here is a story I have always heard about, but never got to read or even see one of its film adaptations. I placed it under the banner of 'ILS 516 Modern Fantasy' because just as Young et al. (2020) stipulate, any work of modern fantasy has its author known (p. 148). Since this was around the time I had begun to exhaust the stack of books I checked out before my library closed, I decided to take a chance on the audiobook version for us LION cardholders. I did just that and felt that as good as Scarlett Johansson is at reading this book, it is really disappointing there are no sound effects.

See, my personal measuring stick of an audiobook is Stephen King’s The Mist. My dad used to have it on cassette being told with so-called ‘3D Sound.’ This basically meant that the text had sound effects accompany it. So, if a part of the story took place during a rainstorm, you actually hear the rain in the background of the conversations. This made the book literally come to life in a way that could not be achieved from just reading it.

I was hoping that because this was a fantasy story, there would be sound effects added too. For example, one perfect usage would have been when Alice falls into the pool of her own tears at the beginning; there could have been the sound of her falling into water. Yet, not a single sound effect is used. Ultimately, even though I really liked the story itself, I am disappointed it did not take advantage of the audiobook format more.

[jessmahler · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The best thing I can say for this book is it is short.

I had a friend who loved Lewis Carroll, I had some time and it was cheap and I figured I'd give it a try. Honestly not sure why I finished. I remember thinking "WTF? I don't know if I can stand to finish this", checking the progress bar and seeing I was already a third of the way through. And just figuring if it was that short might as well.

It never was so bad I wanted to throw it through a wall, but the most enjoyment I got out of it was recognizing scenes from the animated Disney movie. Kudos to Disney for managing to make an engaging film out of this word vomit.

[overthemoon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oozing charm

[lkernagh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delightfully fun, whimsically amusing and what an imagination! Between the outlandish characters, the silly puns and the play with logic, it is easy to see how this book is such a great story for both children and adults. Obviously, a reader needs to love - or at least appreciate - the nonsensical fun to fully enjoy this story, especially given the caricatures and the mayhem that is Wonderland. I can see where some adult readers may revisit this one for nostalgic childhood reasons, but I think I probably appreciate the story more as a adult reader, than I would have reading it as a young girl.

Overall, very happy to have finally read this children's classic.

[nodosaurus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I plan to read Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy and thought it might be interesting to reread the book, this time in French.

>My first observation was that the translator did a good job and most of the book was translated well - at least to the limits of my memory. Then I did notice some shortcomings, for instance the wordplay in the mouse poem relating the mouse's tail to the tale being told just didn't work in French. However, the translator did include good footnotes. Here, he explained differences in the French and English version. He also added some historical notes that I found added value to the story. This included some symbology that I was completely unaware of.

Some of the jokes and puns were, if my memory serves, and perhaps were replaced with new or similar ones taking advantage of the language differences.

Overall, it is a quick read, delightful and imaginative and well worth some time spent.