Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

First published in 1865 and never out of print, Alice is to Tenniel as Winnie-the-Pooh is to E H Shepard. Bold the illustrators (and in Alice ’s case there have been quite a few, from Rackham to Anthony Browne) who have dared to come between such historic couplings, fused as they are forever in our minds.

Oxenbury’s Alice , however, so radically and freshly reframes this classic tale that it invites the reader to approach the story anew. Certainly younger readers will be tempted by the accessibility of her interpretations which have a down to earth quality for all their sensitivity, ingenuity and wit. Liberated from her constricting petticoats, stripey stockings and introspective gaze in favour of old plimsolls, bare legs, a short blue dress and an insouciant air, this Alice lounges confidently at the Mad Hatter’s Tea-Party or faces up to the Queen of Hearts hands on hips. Oxenbury’s White Rabbit is a triumph of anthropomorphic characterisation . Unabridged, this splendid new version of Alice is both handsomely and invitingly produced.