| The Looking Glass Wars | |
| Author: | Frank Beddor |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Fantasy, Novel |
| Publisher: | Dial |
| Release Date: | 2004 (UK) 2006 (US) |
| Media Type: | Print (Hardback & Paperback) Audio |
| Pages: | 384 pg (Hardcover), 400 pg (paperback) |
| Isbn: | 0-8037-3153-1 |
| Congress: | PZ7.B3817982 Lo 2006 |
| Oclc: | 64442735 |
| Followed By: | Seeing Redd |
The Looking Glass Wars is a series of three novels by Frank Beddor, heavily inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The premise is that the two books written by Lewis Carroll are a distortion of the "true story".
The Looking Glass Wars is the first book in the trilogy. It was first released in the United Kingdom in 2004, and released in the United States in 2006. The second book in the trilogy, Seeing Redd, was released in 2007 and the third book, ArchEnemy, was released on October 15, 2009. The series includes a spin-off comic book series entitled Hatter M.
The premise of the book is that Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice in Wonderland was fiction, but that the character Alice and the world of Wonderland is real. Carroll's novel is said to have been inspired by the images, ideas, and names related by Alice to the author, whom she had requested to make a book of her personal history.[1]
The book's prologue tells of Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson showing Alice Liddell (who claims her name to be spelled "Alyss") his manuscript for Alice's Adventures Under Ground. Alyss is shocked by the book's contents and refuses to speak to Dodgson ever again.
The story then begins many years earlier, on Alyss' seventh birthday in Wonderland, which is ruled by imagination and is the source of all imagination for all other worlds. Wonderland features a class system similar to that seen in England during the 17th century. The government is a queendom with an advising Parliament dominated by a playing card based hierarchy, with the Heart family at the top. The Wonderland queen is a member of the Heart family, and the parliament is composed of reigning members of the Spades, Clubs, and Diamonds.
Wonderland, ruled by Queen Genevieve Heart, is still recovering from a civil war between White Imagination and Black Imagination which ended twelve years prior to the beginning of the story. Alyss' companions include tutor Bibwit Harte (whose name is an anagram of "White Rabbit"), the queen's bodyguard Hatter Madigan, Alyss' best friend Dodge Anders, childhood troublemaker Jack of Diamonds, and military commander General Doppelganger.
During a bloody coup d'état led by Alyss' Aunt Redd, the enemy of White Imagination, Alyss flees Wonderland in the company of Hatter Madigan, with Redd's top feline assassin (called only "The Cat") in pursuit. Queen Genevieve and Redd battle and Genevieve is killed by Redd.
Hatter and Alyss enter an inter-dimensional gateway called the Pool of Tears, from which they emerge into Earth. Alyss is separated from Hatter during the journey; she arrives in London, England, and Hatter in Paris, France. Alyss gets adopted by the Liddell family, whereby she is given the name "Odd Alice" for her tales about Wonderland. When Dodgson plagiarizes her stories rather than write them verbatim, she shuns her imagination and resolves to believe Wonderland is false.
Meanwhile, Hatter is searching for Alyss. Along his search he trails people alight with the glow of White Imagination, knowing that Alyss would most likely glow the brightest. After thirteen years of searching for the lost princess, Hatter finds Dodgson's book; he uses this to track down the author, and in turn, find Alyss, who is now twenty years of age. Upon arrival in Oxford, Hatter discovers that the princess is to marry to Prince Leopold. Before Hatter is able to rescue the princess, he is unexpectedly wounded and driven back to Wonderland. Dodge himself goes into the Pool of Tears and rescues Alyss.
For thirteen years, the people of Wonderland have suffered under Redd's dictatorial reign of Black Imagination. The Wonderlanders still loyal to White Imagination have gathered within the Whispering Woods and have been surviving on their own, led by military leader General Doppelganger and Bibwit Harte. They are called the "Alyssians" and stage unsuccessful battles and skirmishes against Redd's forces.
When Alyss returns to Wonderland, she is immediately taken in by the Alyssians. With the assistance of the Alyssians, Alyss is able to find and locate the Looking-Glass Maze. When Alyss passes through the maze, she finds her Heart Scepter and moves on to fight against, and defeat, Redd. While Alyss and Redd battle, Dodge fights against The Cat; Dodge kills The Cat three times, leaving The Cat with one life left. Redd, seeing her imminent failure against Alyss, throws herself into the Heart Crystal, who is followed by The Cat.
Alyss, having defeated Black Imagination, is crowned as the Queen of Wonderland.
Hatter M is a spin-off comic book limited series, written by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier with art by Ben Templesmith. The series follows Hatter Madigan's search for the missing princess.[2]
An additional special issue (numbered 2.5) was given away at summer conventions in 2006. A scanned copy of this issue can be viewed at IGN Comics[3] as a part of a Hatter M-centric story published September 1, 2006.
The second Hatter M graphic novel, named Mad With Wonder, was released October 15, 2009, with art by Finnish artist Sami Makkonen. Hatter explores America during the Civil War and is committed to an asylum. In Volume 3, The Nature of Wonder, Hatter Madigan searches America's wild west in search of Alyss and confronts his past.
Beddor commissioned Doug Chiang to help him write the novel by creating art work of some of the places and peoples in the novel based on Beddor's descriptions. "I had my concept artist on this shoulder and Lewis Carroll on this shoulder, so I had a lot of helpers," said Beddor.[4]
Most of the characters featured in the series are based on the original characters from Lewis Carroll's novels.
Humpty Dumpty is featured in the third book in the series, ArchEnemy, as a character named Mutty P. Dumphy.
The Eaglet is referenced in ArchEnemy as a character with the anagram name of Mr. Taegel, a weapons inventor that provides Alice with "spy gear" and is credited with having invented the special mirror barrier that once hid the Alyssian camp.
In the UK edition, Alyss accuses Lewis Carroll of turning General Doppelganger into Tweedledee and Tweedledum while reading Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. This was removed in the US edition as the Tweedle twins originally appeared in Through the Looking-Glass, rather than the first book.