Book Review: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

It appears that all this time everything we thought we knew about Wonderland and that girl called Alice is about to be completely flipped on its head. Curiouser and curiouser indeed! Frank Beddor, best known for producing films whose credits include There’s Something About Mary has begun a somewhat arduous task – to tell the world the truth about Wonderland. Doesn’t that sound odd?

Apparently, the character that many have come to know as Alice Liddell, sometime muse of Lewis Carroll, is in fact Alyss Heart, eventual Queen of Wonderland. Yes, that’s correct: she comes from Wonderland even though Carroll’s works would have us believe otherwise – that she was a mortal girl who stumbled upon an entrance to aforementioned magical world. Most of us will be able to recall countless bits and pieces of Alice’s adventures – through books, films, cartoons, and other such media.

So, we’ve determined that Alyss is not your ordinary girl, even for Wonderland. She is a princess, her parents being the current monarchs. At the beginning of Beddor’s account, a very spoilt queen-to-be is celebrating her seventh birthday and, with the help of her imagination, is conjuring all sorts of amusing things. Magic is an essential part of life in Wonderland, as is having an active but well-intentioned and disciplined imagination.

Sadly, this glorious, festive occasion is to be thrown into chaos courtesy of Alyss’ evil aunt Redd, sister to her mother, Queen Genevieve. Redd, resentful of her sister’s position, has planned a coup, and Alyss' bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, protects her by whisking her off and throwing them both into the Pool of Tears. This pool takes Alyss to Victorian England, but she is separated from Madigan, who ends up elsewhere in the mortal world.

Poor Alyss! Victorian England is not kind to her, and people seem to be constantly incensed at her claims to be from this other world. Imagination is not tolerated, and she is desperate to go home. Hope eventually comes along in the form of Reverend Charles Dodgson (whose pseudonym Lewis Carroll we are more acquainted with).

He is fascinated by her tale and eager to write it down. Alyss is far from pleased with the final result (well, the beastly man does spell her name incorrectly after all! Hmph!) and it is then that she resigns herself to a ‘normal’ existence, turning her back on the realm of imagination.

Wonderland is not faring well either. Redd has usurped the throne, and her subjects who previously enjoyed a life of happiness now live in fear and misery. They must deny their true queen, who would be hunted down should she return. Yet, there are those who remain staunchly loyal to their true queen and hope for her return.

Article Author: Snarkattack

The author going by the name of Snarkattack was born in the UK, and moved to Australia at the age of eight.
She is a former music school rebel who now wrestles with mental illness and various pathological obsessions including but not limited to …

Visit Snarkattack's author page — Snarkattack's Blog