Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is in the public domain. If you would like to follow along, you can read it for free here on Project Gutenberg’s website. Become a free or paid subscriber to ensure you never miss an episode:
You can also download the Substack app for free to listen to each chapter anywhere, anytime:
Welcome to the very first episode of the Audio Book Club! This new section of the Gazette is open to all subscribers and will include audio books, discussion questions, information about the texts and authors, and more. (Rest assured, weekly essays will continue as usual.)
I have chosen to make these episodes free to all because the books I will be reading aloud are in the public domain (and I didn’t write them). However, if you’d like full access to the publication archives, including the Patron Podcast and the Crossroads Roundup (a weekly roundup of news related to art, archaeology, and more), you can become a paid subscriber below:
Now, why Alice?
I selected Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to launch the Audio Book Club for several reasons:
Many people have seen the 1951 Disney film, but not many have actually read the book. I was completely enthralled by the Alice in Wonderland movie as a child, but didn’t read Lewis Carroll’s original until adulthood. Engaging with the text as an adult, I found myself delighted by Carroll’s sense of humor.
I was inspired by
’s writing in PRETEND IT EXISTS, in which she did a deep dive on Alice’s Adventures Underground for her paid subscribers. Underground was actually the original manuscript on which Wonderland was based, and reading Melody’s pieces unlocked core memories from my childhood. (If you enjoy art, design, and fairytales, I highly recommend checking out her work!)As some of you know, I’m a fantasy writer, and I’ve always been fascinated with the genre’s origins and development. If that topic interests you, I published an essay several weeks ago about portal fantasies. Alice is one of the most famous portal fantasies in the literary canon, such that phrases like “falling down a rabbit hole” are now embedded in colloquial speech.
With each episode, I’ll include posts that explore the narrative, the life of Lewis Carroll, Victorian history, art, and more. I hope you enjoy it!
Our theme song is “Fairy Chase” by Peter Cavallo. Licensing through Artlist.
Related essays from The Crossroads Gazette:
Escaping to Elfland - On the legacy of portal fantasy in literature, from The Mabinogion to Lord Dunsany and C.S. Lewis. Read the full story here.
What We Write in the Shadows - In both Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the vampire sitcom What We Do in the Shadows, confessionals allow the uncanny and the mundane to collide. Read the full story here.
Exclusives for Crossroads patrons:
Patron Podcast: Mermaids, Sirens, and Medieval Romance - Mesopotamian mythology, medieval bestiaries, and classic Disney movies: let’s explore how the mermaid transformed from the villain to the protagonist of her story. Listen to the latest episode here.
Last week’s Crossroads Roundup: Paris Olympics, Operation Pandora, and NYC Ballet Turns 75 - Our favorite stories on art, archaeology, folklore, and more from this past week. Read the full story here.
An Introduction: Audio Book Club - Chapter 1, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"