Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Oct 2015
288 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
"A brilliant and nicely off-kilter reading of the children's classic, retrofitted for grown-ups-and a lot of fun." - Kirkus
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 this brilliant work of fiction, 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."
"Starred Review. A brilliant and nicely off-kilter reading of the children's classic, retrofitted for grown-ups-and a lot of fun." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. 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." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. 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
"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." - Library Journal
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
©2008 Andy Newman
Gregory Maguire is the author of several novels for adults and more than a dozen novels for children.
His few adult novels, include Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999); Lost (2001); Mirror Mirror (2003); Son of a Witch, the sequel to Wicked, published in 2005. His most recent work is After Alice published in 2015.
Wicked has been developed as a big-budget Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, The Prince of Egypt, etc.).
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was filmed for ABC/Disney and aired originally in the Spring of 2002. It starred Stockard Channing and Jonathan Pryce.
Mr. Maguire's work for adults and for children has been published abroad in England, Ireland ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Gregory Maguire's Website
Name Pronunciation
Gregory Maguire: ma-gwire (rhymes with liar)
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