Norton has risen beyond its usual level of excellence in both the content and design of these volumes. They will certainly be treasured members of my library. Physically each book is a hardcover measuring a compact 10 inches tall by 8.5 inches wide — smaller than their oversized previous editions from 1973 (The Annotated Wizard of Oz) and 1990 (The Annotated Alice). The size is important, as the present editions look better at their size than did the oversized versions. They fit the grasp better, and fit on the shelf more neatly. And their gold-leaf embossed covers are appropriate in their look — fanciful without being too ornate.
The 2000 edition of The Annotated Wizard of Oz is a completely revised edition of the original 1973 edition. What you get is a thoroughly annotated copy of Baum’s original story, with an extensive introduction by Martin Gardner, a bibliography, and a W. W. Denslow appendix. Michael Patrick Hearn’s annotations alone are worth the not terribly high cost of this book — forty dollars in the U.S. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the quintessential American fairy tale, with a cute little girl, an adorable dog, silly but sympathetic heroes, and just enough horror to give the reader a chill or two.
What you get in The Annotated Wizard of Oz is the original 1900 text, which is reproduced as it appeared there. Wrapped around this text — and the text itself was fairly short at a little over a hundred pages — is an insightful introduction by Martin Gardner (editor of The Annotated Alice), and the substantially revised Michael Patrick Hearn notes on the text. Hearn is the foremost authority on everything of importance about this novel, having spent his entire adult life studying the novel and its impact on culture. Everything you need to know about this book is here: the contemporary references, (e.g., was Baum commenting on the silver vs. gold standard); the critical interpretations; an insightful look at the author; and even an in-depth look at W. W. Denslow, the man who illustrated the first edition. There’s also a definitive bibliography of Baum’s copious published and unpublished work.
Please note that if you’ve only seen the admittedly wonderful 1939 The Wizard of Oz movie, you really do need to read this book, as the film reveals but a mere shadow of the wonders herein. I read the aforementioned edition after viewing the film, and I was shocked — truly shocked — at the differences. Silver shoes became ruby shoes, the Good Witch of the North had a name, and I won’t even discuss the matter of the traveling medicine show! Take a few hours and read L. Frank Baum’s original text — you’ll be amazed at how different it is from this film version.
Salman Rushdie, who wrote a chapbook about The Wizard of Oz film, said, “Seeing The Wizard of Oz made a writer out of me.” Reading this book will likely restore your sense of wonder and make you better informed about this American classic. (Lahri Bond reviewed The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Kansas Centennial Edition which the University of Kansas released this year.)
“Contrariwise”, said Tweedledee, “if it was so, it might be; / and if it were so, it would be, but as it isn’t, it ‘aint. That’s logic.” – Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
The Annotated Alice looks at a book that is as quintessentially English as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is American. What Martin Gardner has done is create the definitive look at a classic text. It’s not likely that you know who Martin Gardner is, so I’ll give you a brief bio of him. Or rather I’ll let an admirer of his do so, on a Website I unfortunately can no longer locate: “Martin Gardner was born in 1914, and now at the age of 83, is still making an awesome intellectual contribution to the world. I think only Isaac Asimov made such an intellectual contribution with the same order of magnitude. The topics he has written skillfully about, and the literary forms he has mastered include: magic, sleight-of-hand, mathematics, mathematicians, recreational mathematics, puzzles, paradoxes, games, literature, philosophy, science, science fiction, skeptical writings about the psychic-supernatural-paranormal, politics, children’s literature, book reviews, poetry, art-criticism, the intriguing, the mysterious. If you are interested in any of the aforementioned, start reading what he has written, NOW. Martin Gardner’s writings have appeared in many different forums (they would have to!). His most popular writing, also his most admired, was the Mathematical Games which ran for 25 years in the magazine Scientific American. The quality of these essays cannot be underestimated. For difficulty of the subject matter, clarity of the exposition, and firing of the reader’s imagination, they are unsurpassed.”
How Martin got interested in Lewis Carroll is not clearly noted, but I expect he was rightfully fascinated by Carroll, the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematician who created some of the oddest fiction in the known universe. All you need to know is that we know Charles Dodgson used Lewis Carroll as the pseudonym for signing his writings on logic. Dodgson, the son of a clergyman, was the third of 11 children, all of whom stuttered. He was horribly uncomfortable in the company of adults and is said to have spoken without stuttering only to young girls, many of whom he entertained, corresponded with, and photographed. His friendship with the three young daughters of Dean Liddell led to his writing Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Alice Through the Looking Class (1872), which brought him money and fame. Dodgson graduated from Oxford in 1854 and obtained his master of arts degree in 1857. He was appointed lecturer in mathematics at Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1855. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1861 but never practiced as a minister. His writings include articles and books on geometry, determinants, and the mathematics of tournaments and elections. If he had never written the Alice books, he likely would have only been remembered as a first-rate mathematician.
Reading the Alice books is always a wonderful adventure on a cold, snowy winter’s night — they are both a challenging read and a fun experience. But in order to truly appreciate the many, many shades of Carroll’s books, it is essential to read completely through The Annotated Alice, which includes full versions of both books. In addition, John Tenniel has offered extensive annotation as to the historical, bibliographic, and literary background. And Martin Gardner has done a crack job of explaining the thousands of delightfully obscure references in these works. Kirkus Reviews says this is “a welcome, greatly expanded third edition of Gardner’s beloved critical edition of Carroll’s Victorian fairy tales.” And I actually like the original illustrations here more than I like the ones in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as they are less primitive, more pleasing than those drawings. Either Carroll or his publisher had more artistic taste than Baum or his publisher.
OK, you can’t go wrong by purchasing both of these books. Norton has done readers everywhere an immense favor by publishing The Annotated Wizard of Oz and The Annotated Alice in superb editions at very affordable prices. Yule season is approaching — go indulge the child within you and get both of these! Or buy them for that favorite child in your life! Now excuse me while I curl up on the couch, cup of tea in hand, and read The Annotated Alice while the dark descends outside.
(Norton, 2000)
(Norton, 2000)
