Tuesday 9 July 2024

Alice

Literary influences on Poul Anderson:

the Bible
the sagas
Shakespeare
Sherlock Holmes
Lewis Carroll

Carroll is a lesser influence but nevertheless present in the Dominic Flandry story, "The White King's War."

Alice In Wonderland has been with us all our lives. I remember posters advertising a dramatization of Alice at my primary school in about 1955. In the centre of Lancaster right now, prominent posters advertise a promenade performance in Williamson Park, which overlooks the city. There have been many stage and screen adaptations between 1955 and 2024.

I want to plug a graphic work about Alice but find that I have already done so here (scroll down) and here.

I might spend this evening rereading Alice In Sunderland but with some excursions back into Anderson.

4 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Queen Victoria was taken with "Alice in Wonderland" and asked for a copy of Carroll's next book.

He sent her one -- and it was an arcane mathematical treatise...

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!

Mr. Stirling: Ha! I remember reading about that, possibly in Martin Gardner's THE ANNOTATED ALICE. For a long time Carroll/Dodgson's work as a mathematician was neglected or passed over, but I understand that aspect of his thought has been attracting interest recently.

All culturally literate English speakers should read the ALICE books!

Paul: And the works of Rudyard Kipling! Anderson was a big fan of Kipling and loved his stories and poems.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

OK> There is Kipling influence in THE GAME OF EMPIRE.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

That Kiplingian influence can also be seen in others of Anderson's works, such as THE ENEMY STARS.

Ad astra! Sean