After Alice

by Gregory Maguire

Overview

From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Wicked comes a magical new twist on Lewis Carroll’s beloved classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

When Alice toppled down the rabbit-hole 150 years ago, she found a Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But what of that world? How did 1860s Oxford react to Alice’s disappearance?

In After Alice, Gregory Maguire turns his dazzling imagination to the question of underworlds, undergrounds, underpinnings—and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll’s enduring tale. Ada, a friend of Alice’s mentioned briefly in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is off to visit her friend, but arrives a moment too late—and tumbles down the rabbit-hole herself.

Ada brings to Wonderland her own imperfect apprehension of cause and effect as she embarks on an odyssey to find Alice and see her safely home from this surreal world below the world. If Eurydice can ever be returned to the arms of Orpheus, or Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice can be returned to life. Either way, everything that happens next is “After Alice.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062410825
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	10,738
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Gregory Maguire is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked—the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award–winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion picture—Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, After Alice, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. He lives in New England and France.

Hometown:

Boston, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

June 9, 1954

Place of Birth:

Albany, New York

Education:

B.A., SUNY at Albany, 1976; M.A., Simmons College, 1978; Ph.D., Tufts University, 1990

Website:

http://www.gregorymaguire.com

Editorial Reviews

…a narrative that purrs with all the warm confidence of a Cheshire cat…Maguire confronts his weighty themes with a light touch and exquisite, lovely language…Maguire's playful vocabulary may be Carroll-esque, but his keen wit is closer to Monty Python…Gregory Maguire has made a cottage industry out of reframing famous children's stories to explore neglected side characters and misrepresented villains. He has tracked through all of the precincts of Oz and a lot of the landscape of Grimm's fairy tales, and one would not be surprised if his heart was no longer in such expeditions. Furthermore, Alice's Wonderland has been so often revisited…that it would seem everything worth discovering there must have been strip-mined long ago. Even that phrase, "down the rabbit hole," is so overused that it now has all the life of a taxidermied white hare. But Maguire's enthusiasm is intact, his erudition a joy, and his sense of fun infectious. What could have been a tired exercise in the familiar instead recharges a beloved bit of nonsense. By book's end, most readers will be hoping for a sequel…

The New York Times Book Review - Joe Hill

★ 09/14/2015
Maguire (Wicked) turns his attention to Lewis Carroll’s Victorian fantasies, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, in this thoughtful and disconcertingly memorable novel. Ada Boyce, Alice’s best friend, also falls down a rabbit hole into a phantasmagorical realm where she too is tossed and bossed about by strange creatures who delight in clever, frustrating wordplay. She longs to shed the metal brace that both imprisons and protects her crooked back, but she also wants to reunite with Alice and go home. Meanwhile, Alice’s older sister, Lydia, disturbed by the death of their mother and her own impending womanhood, searches distractedly for a visiting little boy, Siam, who has climbed into the world on the other side of the mirror in the family drawing room. Maguire frequently pulls back from the action to offer a larger perspective as characters struggle to discover who and what they are—and, most importantly, why they are. This is a feast for the mind, and readers will ruminate on it long after turning the last page. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Thoughtful and disconcertingly memorable…Ada, Alice’s best friend, also falls down a rabbit hole into a phantasmagorical realm where she too is tossed and bossed about by strange creatures who delight in clever, frustrating wordplay…A feast for the mind…readers will ruminate on it long after turning the last page.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Maguire firmly sets Wonderland in time and place and weaves an intricate web of symbolism and allegory…The novel is full of the magic, wonder, and fresh twists that his fans have come to expect, and Maguire-and Wonderland-lovers alike will enjoy this fantastic return.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Continuing his tradition of rewriting fairy tales with an arch eye and offbeat point of view, Maguire turns his attention to Lewis Carroll and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. . . . A brilliant and nicely off-kilter reading of the children’s classic, retrofitted for grown-ups—and a lot of fun.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[Maguire’s] playful vocabulary may be Carroll-esque, but his keen wit is closer to Monty Python, with a fine, unforced sense of play… his erudition is a joy, his sense of fun infectious.” — Joe Hill, New York Times Book Review

“In one vexing day, Ada, Lydia, and Miss Armstrong must adapt to deal with their circumstances and find new facets of themselves. Maguire fans should be pleased with his take, at turns clever and philosophical, on the Lewis Carroll classic.” — Library Journal

“The author of Wicked, the beloved retelling of the Wizard of Oz, has done it again. In honor of Alice and Wonderland’s 150th anniversary, Gregory Maguire is offering a new perspective on the classic tale… We guarantee you’ve never imagined Alice and Wonderland quite like this.” — InStyle (Book Club Selection)

“Through means of jokes, puns, and slightly scandalous ditties, combined with the elevated vocabulary that was very common in Victorian literature, Maguire evokes both the time period and Carroll himself… this book is a wonderful companion to Lewis Carroll’s classic tales.” — New York Journal of Books

“AFTER ALICE will inspire readers to think anew about both historical realities and classic fantasies.” — Bookreporter.com

“Maguire plays with the ancient archetypes at work in Wonderland while injecting them with fresh perspective.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Maguire’s style takes on an almost lyrical quality. In After Alice Maguire masterfully mimics the quick, witty, and often nonsensical dialogue of Carroll’s original story.” — Manhattan Book Review

“[S]tunningly clever in its conflation of fairy tales, the mix and match of characters, woven throughout with references to philosophical ideas, the social issues of the day, and attitudes of the time…Maguire impressively channels Carroll’s penchant for humorous wordplay, literary nonsense, and logic games.” — Boston Globe

“Gregory Maguire has done it again! Just as he did with Wicked, Maguire has turned the beloved children’s tale Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into an adult world with real problems and real rules yet still full of magnificent possibilities.” — The Arched Doorway

“This new expedition into Wonderland promises a bit of history, a touch of adventure and a dazzling amount of imagination.” — Stuart Magazine

From the Publisher

Maguire firmly sets Wonderland in time and place and weaves an intricate web of symbolism and allegory…The novel is full of the magic, wonder, and fresh twists that his fans have come to expect, and Maguire-and Wonderland-lovers alike will enjoy this fantastic return.

Booklist (starred review)

AFTER ALICE will inspire readers to think anew about both historical realities and classic fantasies.

Bookreporter.com

[Maguire’s] playful vocabulary may be Carroll-esque, but his keen wit is closer to Monty Python, with a fine, unforced sense of play… his erudition is a joy, his sense of fun infectious.

Joe Hill

Maguire’s style takes on an almost lyrical quality. In After Alice Maguire masterfully mimics the quick, witty, and often nonsensical dialogue of Carroll’s original story.

Manhattan Book Review

Through means of jokes, puns, and slightly scandalous ditties, combined with the elevated vocabulary that was very common in Victorian literature, Maguire evokes both the time period and Carroll himself… this book is a wonderful companion to Lewis Carroll’s classic tales.

New York Journal of Books

The author of Wicked, the beloved retelling of the Wizard of Oz, has done it again. In honor of Alice and Wonderland’s 150th anniversary, Gregory Maguire is offering a new perspective on the classic tale… We guarantee you’ve never imagined Alice and Wonderland quite like this.

InStyle (Book Club Selection)

Maguire plays with the ancient archetypes at work in Wonderland while injecting them with fresh perspective.

Entertainment Weekly

This new expedition into Wonderland promises a bit of history, a touch of adventure and a dazzling amount of imagination.

Stuart Magazine

[S]tunningly clever in its conflation of fairy tales, the mix and match of characters, woven throughout with references to philosophical ideas, the social issues of the day, and attitudes of the time…Maguire impressively channels Carroll’s penchant for humorous wordplay, literary nonsense, and logic games.

Boston Globe

Gregory Maguire has done it again! Just as he did with Wicked, Maguire has turned the beloved children’s tale Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into an adult world with real problems and real rules yet still full of magnificent possibilities.

The Arched Doorway

10/01/2015
What happened above after Alice fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland? That is the question Maguire (Wicked) answers in his latest novel. In alternating chapters we follow Alice's sister Lydia, who was watching Alice but lost her, and Ada Boyce, Alice's neighbor and friend, who also falls into Wonderland. Lydia is beset—by Miss Armstrong, Ada's governess; by her father's entertaining Charles Darwin that day; with being a newly motherless 15-year-old girl. Ada, free of adult scrutiny and her scoliosis brace for the first time, experiences the oddness of Wonderland as she follows in Alice's wake. In one vexing day, Ada, Lydia, and Miss Armstrong must adapt to deal with their circumstances and find new facets of themselves. VERDICT Maguire fans should be pleased with his take, at turns clever and philosophical, on the Lewis Carroll classic. Other readers may find the slow build up of action and wrenching jumps between the two disconnected settings, one in stilting 19th-century language and the other in the nonsense of Wonderland, a bit too high a barrier to keep them reading. [See Prepub Alert, 4/6/15; see also Barbara Hoffert's "Why Alice Still Matters: Celebrating 150 Years of Wonderland with Gregory Maguire," LJ 8/15.—Ed.]—Nancy H. Fontaine, Norwich P.L., VT

Library Journal

03/01/2016
The story of Lewis Carroll's Alice is turned upside down as Ada, a neighbor and friend, also falls down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Afterwards, life progresses for those aboveground, some of whom start looking for both girls. Maguire creatively adapts the classic tale, mixing whimsy with science as he finds a way to work in Charles Darwin and his research on natural selection and an American abolitionist into the narrative. Teenagers will feel comfortable reading about well-known characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts. This sense of familiarity, along with the brisk pace of the novel, will help readers through the often challenging vocabulary. They may also enjoy references to literary works from Dante and Shakespeare to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. As in the source material, there is great language play and there is no shortage of clever riddles. The secondary characters are just as fun, and teens may identify with Lydia, the older sister who is happy to be rid of Alice for the day while mourning the loss of her mother. With an open ending, this could easily become another popular series opener like Wicked (HarperCollins, 1995). VERDICT Teens who enjoy reimagined tales, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or any of Maguire's previous works will line up to read his newest creation.—Carrie Shaurette, Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, N

School Library Journal

Take a new whimsical trip down the rabbit hole with narrator Katherine Kellgren in AFTER ALICE. This adaptation tells the story of Alice's friend, Ada, and HER experience in Wonderland. Kellgren does impressive work, animating each peculiar voice to differentiate and entertain. The variety of tone, pace, and emotion makes for a highly amusing and enjoyable listen. Her proper and potent accent is fitting for an eccentric tale filled with mischievous characters that begs listeners to choose their favorite playful voice. The quizzical banter that Ada encounters in Wonderland is perfectly executed and supported by Kellgren's theatrics. She’s an exquisite example of a narrator who uses all her strengths and who isn't afraid of being expressive and dramatic. D.Z. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2015 - AudioFile

★ 2015-07-29
Alice doesn't live here anymore—and Maguire (Egg & Spoon, 2014, etc.) has great fun upending the furniture to find out where's she gone. Continuing his tradition of rewriting fairy tales with an arch eye and offbeat point of view, Maguire turns his attention to Lewis Carroll and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alice has dropped down the rabbit hole—"again," sighs an exasperated governess, one of the story's many bêtes noires—and now her best friend and confidante, Ada Boyce, is falling in after her, looking to bring our young Persephone, or perhaps Eurydice, back into the light. Well, of course, Ada finds all sorts of curiouser and curiouser things down below, from hookah-smoking caterpillars to mad hatters and pince-nez-sporting sheep, with Carroll's original cast of characters plus a few of Maguire's own imagining. Up on Earth, Maguire populates the scene with all kinds of folks from real life, among them Walter Pater, Charles Darwin, and various members of the British royal family, who fuss about doing serious and real-world things—including, in a nice, smart closing turn, a meditation on the evolutionary qualities of, yes, the imagination. Not that Alice and Ada aren't (weren't, that is) real, but Maguire leaves it to them, mostly, to enjoy the wackiness of the underworld and for the grown-ups to do the pondering. Still, some of the slyest moments come when the two worlds collide: "I have always heard that Queen Victoria was moderate in her tastes," says Ada, confused at a subterranean knight's alarm that the queen is likely to have their heads. And there's no end to sinister possibilities along with the usual charming Alice storyline—after all, Lewis Carroll didn't inscribe the entrance to Wonderland's tiny door with the words out of Dante, "All ye who enter here, abandon hope." A brilliant and nicely off-kilter reading of the children's classic, retrofitted for grown-ups—and a lot of fun.

Kirkus Reviews