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:
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Welcome back to the Audio Book Club! One change that I will endeavor to make from here on out is reading at a more moderate pace. (I didn’t realize how quickly I speak until listening back to the first two episodes!) Those who prefer a faster read can always adjust the playback speed, but hopefully this will be better for all of us.
Last week, we explored how Lewis Carroll came up with his idea for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This week, I wanted to share a few words on Sir John Tenniel, who created the original illustrations for Carroll’s book. A giant of Victorian illustration, his art strongly influenced later depictions of Alice—in particular, Disney’s film.
Before there was Charles Addams and David Low, there was John Tenniel:
John Tenniel was born in 1820; his father was a fencer and dancing master, and he was one of six children. A lifelong Londoner, he became a student at the Royal Academy of Arts at the age of twenty-two under the assumption that he would pursue a career in fine arts. What truly captured his imagination, though, was drawing live performers; he was particularly gifted at depicting movement in his art, and the theatrical gestures of actors and opera singers inspired him.
At art school, he quickly lost interest in fine art and discovered his true calling as an illustrator. His career took off when he began illustrating for books, the first being Samuel Carter Hall’s The Book of British Ballads (1842). His illustrations for an 1848 edition of Aesop’s Fables were what landed him the job as Principal Cartoonist for Punch, a popular magazine of satire, political commentary, and humor. Punch was widely read in Victorian Britain, with its first issue published in 1841 and remaining in circulation until 1992. You can find a catalogue of Tenniel’s work for Punch here on Project Gutenberg.
Tenniel’s political cartoons caught the eye of Lewis Carroll, who enlisted the artist to illustrate both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The fact that Tenniel had a background in political commentary and satire made him the perfect fit for the role: as we will explore in upcoming chapters, Alice is full of sly commentary on Victorian politics and social norms.
Because Carroll did not include lengthy visual descriptions of his characters, Tenniel’s illustrations have held enormous influence over how the public imagines the cast of Alice. I will include Tenniel’s art in each entry, but as an example, here is his Mad Hatter:
And now, take a look at the Mad Hatter from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland:
I think Disney’s team was wise to stay close to Tenniel’s original art, as they would have loomed large in the public’s collective memory of Carroll’s novel.
Tenniel was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1893, making him the first cartoonist to receive the honor. To commemorate his knighthood, Punch published this tribute by Linley Sambourne:
Tenniel’s knighthood helped to elevate the status of cartoonists in the eyes of the public, and by the time he retired in 1901, he was a widely celebrated figure.
Sir John Tenniel passed away on February 25th, 1914—merely a few days before his 94th birthday, and mercifully, several months before the outbreak of the First World War. His political cartoons and his body of work as an illustrator would greatly influence both fields for generations to come.
Our theme song is “Fairy Chase” by Peter Cavallo. Licensing through Artlist.
Recent episodes of the Audio Book Club:
Audio Book Club: Chapter 2, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - How did Lewis Carroll come up with the idea for his beloved novel? That and more on this week's edition of the Audio Book Club, open to all! Listen here.
Audio Book Club: Chapter 1, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Open to all! After a long week, kick off your shoes, pour yourself a cup of tea, and join us around the fire for a relaxing story. Listen here.
On John Tenniel: Audio Book Club - Chapter 3, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"