Wonderland (fictional country)
Wonderland Alice country |
|
 The royal garden in Wonderland |
|
| Source | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
|---|---|
| Creator | Lewis Carroll |
| Genre | Children's book |
| Capital (and largest city) |
|
| Language(s) | |
| Government | Monarchy |
| - King | King of Hearts |
| - Queen | Queen of Hearts |
| Wonderland | |
|---|---|
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland location | |
| Creator | Lewis Carroll |
| Genre | Children's book |
| Notable locations | Rabbit hole, March Hare's house, Queen's Croquet Ground |
| Notable characters | White Rabbit, Duchess, Cheshire Cat, the Hatter, March Hare |
Wonderland is the setting for Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
In the story, Wonderland is located underground, and Alice reaches it by travelling down a rabbit hole, possibly on the banks of the Thames between Folly Bridge and Godstow.[1] While the location is apparently somewhere beneath Oxfordshire, Carroll does not specify how far down it is, and he has Alice speculate whether it is near the center of the earth or even at the Antipodes.[2] The land is heavily wooded and also grows mushrooms. There are well-kept gardens and substantial houses, such as those of the Duchess and the White Rabbit. Wonderland has a seacoast, where the Mock Turtle lives.
[edit] Government
The land is ruled despotically by the King and Queen of Hearts, who frequently enforce their whims through decrees of capital punishment and kangaroo courts. There is at least one Duchess.
[edit] Inhabitants
The main population consists of animated playing cards: the royal family (hearts), courtiers (diamonds), soldiers (clubs), and servants (spades). In addition, there are many talking animals. Among the characters Alice meets are:
- Bill the Lizard
- Caterpillar
- Cheshire Cat
- Dodo
- Dormouse
- Duchess
- Gryphon
- King of Hearts
- Knave of Hearts
- The Hatter
- March Hare
- Mock Turtle
- Pat
- Queen of Hearts
- White Rabbit
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Manguel, Alberto; Gianni Guadalupi (2000). The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (Newly updated and expanded ed.). San Diego: Harcourt. p. 712. ISBN 0156008726. http://books.google.com/books?id=T3603Pi01f4C.
- ^ Reichertz, Ronald (2000). "The World Turned Upside Down". The Making of the Alice Books: Lewis Carroll's Uses of Earlier Children's Literature (paperback ed.). McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 33–51. ISBN 0773520813. http://books.google.com/books?id=7Dk9bQv6JGsC&pg=PA33.
