Back at The Bookroom today ( oh joy! ) having been surplus to requirements over the low season. I've missed it, and the books that found me today were about The Great Exhibition of 1851 ( with some interesting 'Punch' cartoons that Tenniel did; a book on the History of Oxford, with some lovely maps, and a Ruskin children's book written in 1846 "The Tale of the Golden River', with more on the 'Goblin' theme we've visited recently. All interesting stuff.
Then Em, I go home for lunch and to take those two beasties of mine out for their walk- and hey-ho, Amazon's delivered something I've been on the trail of for a while!
Today's work!
Well Emily!
This post was due to be 'The Red Queen', but no, no, no; we must pause a while, and please pardon my level of excitement, but ooh Em!
The 'Red King's Dream' by Jo Elwyn Jones and J.Francis Gladstone ( yes, descendant ) is the focus of my delight. Way back when my 'light-bulb moment' happened about JMC being the Red and White Queen, Brian and Colin both mentioned this book to me. Though, they couldn't remember its name and I had misguidedly been looking for 'The Red Queen' so hadn't come across it.
Emily, they're on the same trail as me...
They too found Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and a lot more besides. I simply HAVE to get in touch and compare notes.
For reasons you'll understand I'm sure, my credits for this post lay almost entirely with this book.
So, there I was kinda leaving the 'creatures' in the Alice-books alone, just as I don't touch the Math bit ( brain won't go there. ) 'Fossil' Martin of Black-gang Chine fame, keeps trying to draw me over to this, saying that there was a load of Darwin 'Origin of the Species' relevance.
However, I kept trying to keep my focus on 'Looking-Glass' stuff, with the only objects of curiosity being those who transcend one to the other ( i.e 'Alice in Wonderland' through to 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' ) but I can't.
To thank Bob again for his really useful term 'Intertextuality', that's what we come back to every time.
Wombats began the creature focus Em, that and the Pre-Raphs, and its not yet time to move on.
Ruskin. 8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900
John Ruskin, primarily Art Critic, also Pre-Raph staunch supporter, and Artist and writer in his own right- who eventually went mad, and who was at Oxford with Dodgson, used to work in to his landscapes, 'secret portraits'.
More importantly in our tale, he was close to the Liddells, apparently he was rather keen on Alice's older sister Ina, ( whom he gave a gilt metal filigree necklace to ) and contrived a meeting with the rather over-confident child Alice, when her parents were out for supper.
I don't expect, with what we know of Charlie-boy, that that went down terribly well with him.
So, what did he do? The usual, Em, turn him into something he wrote about and lampooned.
Enter, 'The Gryphon'; Ruskin was very particular about his 'Griffins'.
An aggrieved Dodgson knew how to push his buttons.
The Gryphon is rather 'distasteful' to Alice who is rather concerned about being left alone with him.
This posts 'colouring in' is from an original draft for the 'Gryphon' by Tenniel- as I'm getting a bit puritanical about the source these days.
Ruskin, only liked to show one side of his face lit properly in portrait, as he had been savaged by a dog as a child- and liked to show his 'best-side'.
Well, I did say we were off to the 'Dark-Side' Em, but I didn't know we were still in 'Alice in Wonderland', I thought we had crossed the divide and were in 'Alice Through the Looking Glass', but no, who knew, 'twas our 'Timorous Beastlies' that would take us there.
So, ma petite, I shall sign orff. We shall get to the Red Queen, I promise.
Somehow I have gotten myself involved at Dimbola with an 'Alice' exhibition. All good of course, but it means a bit more work, obviously no peace for your wicked Grandmother.
Admiringly yours,
Your ever-loving Grand-mother GiGi xxxxx
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