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The Blog of the LCSNA

1949 British Film Features Isa Bowman and Petula Clark

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Here is another missive from one of our most active minions:

“Carroll’s Isa Bowman and ’60s icon Petula Clark? In the same movie!? Yep, Vote for Huggett (1949) featured Isa (then 75), her sisters Nellie and Empsie Bowman, and former child star Petula Clark (17, singing “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree”). Also in the cast were David Tomlinson (George Banks in Mary Poppins), popular screen beauty Diana Dors (18), and Anthony Newley. Based on the radio series Meet the Huggets (1953–61), the movie is now available in a 4-DVD set called The Huggetts Collection, from ITV.”

Isa Bowman of course was one of Lewis Carroll’s closest child friends after Alice, and wrote a book about her visits with him, Lewis Carroll As I Knew Him (and later published under another title, as well).  She had a small role in the first authorized stage production of Alice in London, and played the role of Alice in the revival a few years later.

You can also find the set available from various vendors via Amazon.com.  To see a list, click me.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are considering buying these DVDs, they are encoded for Region 2, so they will not play on standard U.S. DVD players.

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Margaret Atwood Declines Blurb Requests With Carrollian Flair

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Blogger Kirsten Reach shares and comments on the with form letter that author Margaret Atwood uses to decline all requests for promotional “blurbs” for book dust jackets.  While neither Lewis Carroll nor Robert Southey is credited for the inspiration, Ms. Atwood’s response is clearly a clever riff on “Father William.”  And Carroll’s beloved “Father William” was of course itself a riff on Southey’s original, decidedly moralistic and non-comical effort, “The Old Man’s Comforts and How He Gained Them.”

To read the post and Ms. Atwood’s pithy and poetical blurb refusal letter, click me.

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Contrariwise: New Alt Rock Album of Songs from Wonderland and Looking-Glass

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Attention, shoppers! Are you looking for some new Holiday “Carrolls” for yourself or someone else? Is there a Carrollian on your list who claims to have “everything” in the world of Alice music?  Well, we’ve just received this note from Daniel Hales, of the indie alt/rock/folk band Daniel Hales, and the Frost Heaves:

“Our 3rd album: Contrariwise: Songs from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass is now available for purchase on CD Baby (either the entire, physical album, a download of the digital album, or selected tracks). For this album we adapted (almost) all of the poems in the two “Alice” books for music–and also wrote a few Alice-themed originals. These adaptations were originally composed and performed for a stage production of “Alice In Wonderland,” but can now provide the soundtrack for your own adventures in magical realms: http://cdbaby.com/cd/danielhalesandthefrosthe”

Daniel sent me a preview copy of the album, and while everyone’s tastes are of course different, I think the musical settings are quite fun. You can sample any or all of the tracks before buying, so check it out, and if you like what you hear, shop away!

To give you the flavor of their music, Daniel also shared this clever video they made for Jabberwocky, animating Tenniel’s original illustrations (if the video doesn’t load, try refreshing this page in your browser, or click me to view it on Vimeo):

 

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Pinterest Page Displays Vintage Alice in Wonderland Book Covers

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If you would enjoy seeing an online collection of vintage book covers for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from all over the world, then you’ll enjoy this Pinterest page spotted by one of our mimsy minions.  The page owner already has a nice start on an enjoyable collection of images.

To see the Wonderland book cover images on Pinterest, click me. 

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German Translations of Carroll’s Works Available Print-on-Demand

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Tenniel Looking-Glass TrainHere is another publishing item from one of our mimsy minions:

“Günther Flemming’s German translation of the Alice books (including Under Ground and the Nursery), the Snark, plus a plethora of prefaces, poems, riddles, biographical sketches, and the article “Alice on the Stage,” along with a “kaleidoscope” of annotations and commentary — a task begun in 1967 — has been published in three hardcover volumes. The total cost is €209 ($284) plus postage.
To buy, go to the print-on-demand site http://www.epubli.de and put “Günther Flemming” in the Search (Suchen) box, or buy it from Amazon.de:

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Nina Demurova Wins Russia’s Highest Children’s Literature Prize

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This just in from one of our mimsiest minions:

“Famed Russian translator of Wonderland and Looking Glass, Nina Mikhailovna Demurova, has been awarded Russia’s highest prize in children’s literature, the 2013 Korney Chukovskii Award, given for “outstanding creative achievements.”

As the “Moscow Evening” newspaper reports, “‘No one has done more for our literature, than Demurova’, said Grigorii Kruzhkov, a well-known poet and translator of The Hunting of the Snark. ‘Thanks to Nina Mikhailovna’s work, I learned about nonsense poetry, the existence of limericks, Edward Lear, and in the end, “The Hunting of the Snark” a recognized model of absurdity.’

Nina Demurova has spoken to the LCSNA three times, in 1990, 1998, and 2001, and most recently wrote the introduction to our 2013 member premium, Sonja in the Kingdom of Wonder.”

Congratulations, Nina!  This recognition is well-deserved, indeed.

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Puzzles in Wonderland Book Features Carroll-Inspired Brain Teasers

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One of our mimsy minions has alerted us to a new book by Richard Wolfrik Galland entitled Lewis Carroll’s Puzzles in Wonderland.  And here is what our minion had to say:

“Lewis Carroll’s Puzzles in Wonderland (Carlton/Metro 2013) is a bit of a misnomer. There are a few of Carroll’s original puzzles in the text, but most of them are “inspired by” (i.e., adapted to fit) the Wonderland environs, and nicely illustrated with the colored Tenniel drawings. R. W. Gallard has provided an intriguing collection of puzzles, conundrums, riddles, and brain-teasers categorized as “Easy,” “Curious,” and “Harder.””

If you have a Carrollian puzzle-lover on your holiday gift list, this might be a book to consider!

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David Delamare Alice Book Kickstarter Campaign

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If you are a fan of Lewis Carroll and reader of this blog, then you have probably seen our prior posts about artist David Delamare.  He has been working on paintings and illustrations for his own edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for five years now.  One of our mimsy minions has just alerted us that Mr. Delamare has a Kickstarter campaign going on only for a few more weeks.  If he reaches his goal, he will be publishing a private, limited edition deluxe version of his book before creating a trade edition.

So, if you are a fan of Alice, you might want to check out the rewards remaining for pledging your support for Mr. Delamare’s limited edition.  If you’re also a fan of monkeys, crocodiles, and chinoiserie, then you really should check out his campaign.  If he does not reach his fundraising goal by 3am on January 6th, 2014, the deluxe edition will not be created.

To visit the Kickstarter campaign, click me.

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Looking Glass Wars Kickstarter Campaign

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If you are a fan of the Looking Glass Wars novels, author Frank Beddor has written to let us know he has a Kickstarter campaign running for ONLY another nine days to fund the next new title, Looking Glass Wars: Millinery Academy.  As is customary with Kickstarter campaigns, there are a host of tempting rewards (all must have prizes, you know!) including signed special editions, posters, and more, for various pledge amounts.

Some of the funding will also go to a new graphic novel.  So whether you’re into only prose, graphic novels, or both, you might want to explore the campaign and its perks.  But this campaign runs for only another nine days; if the goal is not reached, the books and rewards will not be produced.

To view the Kickstarter campaign, click me.

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New Boy George Album Includes a Wonderland-Inspired Track

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Pop singer and pop culture icon Boy George (formerly of Culture Club) credits a passage from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as the inspiration for the song “Any Road” from his new album, This is What I Do.  There is alas no video yet for this track, but apparently George uses a Wonderland theme to address the various paths one can choose in life, and his own choice to step away from the various forms of addiction that have dogged him in the past.

To read more of the article from web site The Quietus, and see promo clips from some of the album’s other tracks, click me.

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