[Your name here]’s Adventures in Wonderland

Here’s a strange one…

Imagine opening Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and starting to read. Except instead of Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt and Benvolio, the names you see are yours and those of your family or friends. Each Personalised Classic is custom-printed with the names you choose for the main characters (up to 6 names) and your own dedication.

This is the slightly unsettling service offered by Acorn Gifts. In addition to Romeo and Juliet, you and your loved ones could also star in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Pride and Prejudice. It’s interesting that two out of three of these options contain explicit discussions about the relationship between names and things. Even stranger, there does not seem to be a way for the buyer to specify which character gets which name. What a thought-provoking gift.

***

[Capulet’s orchard.]
WANDA [Coming forward.]:
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Steve is the sun!

***

“Must a name mean something” Nevaeh asked doubtfully?”

“Of course is must,” Peaches Geldof said with a short laugh: “my name means the shape I am—and a good handsome shape it is, too. With a name like yours you might be any shape, almost.”