As a fan of the Alice stories (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass), I was intrigued by this title - the concept of Alice and the various denizens of Wonderland appear in books, cartoons, movies, artwork and I have always wanted to learn more about the story behind the original work.
Youngman provides an introduction to the origins of the Alice tales and how Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) knew the Liddell family. Over the years, while I had heard some comments about Carroll's relationship with the Liddell’s, and young Alice in particular, the details provided by the author, make for uncomfortable reading. Of course, it is difficult to be completely sure of how events occurred and the intentions involved as we are relying on letters and information many decades later. But the situation is discomforting to say the least.
Youngman takes this information and uses it to create a pathway towards investigating some of the darker tales and theories surrounding Alice/Lewis. These vary from fashion to erotica and even artwork - not to mention, the bizarre and frankly disturbing notion that Carroll was in fact, Jack the Ripper!
Exceptionally well researched, this novel serves as a good introduction into the world of Alice/Carroll, along with the incredibly varied art forms where Alice features. There are many facts and interesting elements about the world of Alice uncovered by the author. Anime Alice? Yes, she exists. Murder mystery Alice? Ditto. Erotica and even pornographic Alice? Oh, yes those forms also exist.
I did find that the text became repetitive after a while, and for this reason, found some pages boring. Otherwise this would have been a 5 star review.

This is a very detailed study of the aspects of Alice in Wonderland that are negative. There are a lot of great quotes and references.

This is 100 % a very unique read. I do not know what i think about Lewis Carrol or Alice in Wonderland anymore, it's the kind of thought-provoking read that will have you questioning it and thinking about it for weeks to come. But it's also one of those reads that could come across as many different things, and many different opinions, depending on the person reading it.
Although I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I don't remember much of Alice in Wonderland, just what I read as a child and the Disney animation. I will be rereading it though, just to get a feel of it again and see if i can then make my mind up on Lewis Carroll, As i can see two points of view. Innocent and Guilty!
I could not put this one down and read it in a full sitting, (more or less) even though it was repetitive at the beginning of every chapter, and a bit twisted at times, it was a very powerful story, that shocked me at every chapter!
I recommend this to anyone who would like to know a bit more about the following of Alice in Wonderland, if you have the stomach for it, as it does contain a lot of triggers.
But also do not recommend it to any super Alice fans, if you don't want your feelings to change toward the book, because this read will definitely make you think!

this was a crazy read, I really didn't know much about the author of Alice in Wonderland and this book really makes you think. It was a well done book and I was engaged from beginning to end.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review of, The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland, by Angela Youngman.

First of all, this book was not what I expected. I thought it was going to be a dark Alice in Wonderland retelling. However, it's an investigative report basically of the author, Charkes Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll and the way his story, Alice in Wonderland, was remade into many different media. For example, video games, movies, art, etc. And, how these new pathways of exploring the story have dark and potentially sinister agendas.

Let me start out by saying I am not the greatest at writing so bare with me through my review this is something new for me.
This book I really enjoyed reading. The details it had throught out the story was very interesting. There were so many things of Lewis Carrol past that I had never known or have ever heard. So after reading this it was great to get inside his life and see his past life and a bit of his life. I thought it was and again excuse my writing here I need work on my vacab skills but I thought I rather interesting how different the times are and how people thought compared to times now. It brings up a lot of questions and some answers. I also was wonderfully surprised about all the different styles and stories or even plays for that matter that had become from this story it self or had blossomed from it. Even the style it self was a big trend and still is to this day. I wanted to highlight some of the information in this book because I wanted to go find those books, videos, plays or tarot cards but I only had this copy for so long. I was very lucky to have been able to read it before its release. I can't beileve the details of the past relationship with him and alice and how unfortunately we will never know the full truth of what happened. He did such great thinga though through his time while reading this book that I never knew and did things I also did not know. I also love how the author touches on how others try to take many different plays on the story and interpret it into what they thought it was trying to say or into something of its own.. I highly recommend this book if you are a lover of all things Alice and want to learn the back story or more about who Lewis Carrol was. It gives such great detail and who was in and out of his life. It also gives so much detail of the different style of alice today. So for me I definitely would recommend this to all my alice friends because this is right up your ally. Definitely give this book a read!

I loved the cover and title of this book. Youngman offers quite a complete and well-written discussion of the mind, life and habits of Charles Dodgson/Lewis Carroll and the meaning of his creative constructions, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I did not know that Alice in Wonderland was self-published! While the beginning of the book imparts information that can be had (with music, experts and visuals) on YouTube, the vast middle section offers a rather thorough breakdown of every conceivable manner that Alice in Wonderland has impacted culture, how that evidence is displayed, what it means, and how it might all have been premeditated. (Shiver. Let's hope not.) These offerings are categorized into the departments one might expect--fetishism, occult significance and impact, psychological connotations, ad infinitum. One cannot help but conclude that no young genius could have conscientiously imbued his narrative with so many symbols and meanings on purpose. I personally found the political tie-ins convincing. How can anyone not be subconsciously impacted what people are arguing about, night and day? The argument is strong (and convincing) for politics to have influenced the illustrator, Sir John Tenniel, who Dodgson himself sought out and paid to do the artwork. Tenniel was also a political cartoonist. By the end, this wonderful book grows legs and walks. While I am not expert on the many books written to explore the hall of mirrors that was the psyche of Charles Dodgson, The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland struck me as a very good jumping off point--articulate and organized, something one might value as a reference book at home on a shelf, which one might want to consult in order to argue a point.

I love alice in wonderland so much. I have read a lot of books about it, but i have to say this one is one of my favorites. It was the right kind of dark for my dark mind. This was really amazing

I honestly don’t remember if I read Alice in Wonderland as a child but I was fascinated by the story and the author. Unfortunately the book didn’t have enough information about Charles Dodgson. Which was disappointing to me. Alice Liddell (the inspiration of Alice) wasn’t mentioned much in the book except in the beginning. Instead the book delved into how ‘Alice’ was remade into video games, parties, occult’s, drugs, music, movies, and books that was inspired from the books. Which honestly, I skimmed some of it.
The parts of Charles that I read that was disturbing to me was he that took nude photos of young girls. I can’t imagine or understand it. Now that I find him creepy I don’t know if I could read his materials. Sorry for his fans.
What’s most intriguing to me was that he wrote a simple story that lead to 150 years worth of music, games, movies and books. For example I had no idea the book Lolita was derived from Alice.
Overall, it was a good book but I was hoping for more on his history.

I received this copy from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review and opinion.

I’ve always been a fan of the Alice in Wonderland stories and have several editions in my collection. I was intrigued to find out more about the darker side of this world, as I knew little about the author and his background.

The Darker Side of Alice in Wonderland provides an insight into Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) and I found some of the details (i.e.: his long-standing fascination with Alice Liddell even after the family had mysteriously and suddenly cut contact with him, as well as his letters to parents asking to photograph their children nude and to be with them unchaperoned) to be unnerving, sinister and manipulative, even by the differing standards and opinions of the day.

The book also shows how people can twist a story to suit to suit their own theories, agenda and imagination. It is fascinating (and equally disturbing) how other researchers and authors have taken elements of Dodgson’s life and the Alice stories themselves and rethought them to suit their own darker purposes. The Jack the Ripper theory is one that I found particularly funny and ridiculous.

The book can get a bit repetitive in place – the author repeats the same ideas or facts in several chapters – however, I loved how they introduced the reader to other Alice-related works of art and books. I spent a lot of time googling the artists and books mentioned and have them to thank for my ever-expanding ‘To Read’ list!

Any die-hard Alice superfan will love the new perspectives that this book presents!

I was intrigued to see a book on Alice in Wonderland. I had only known a little about the possible “dark side” of it and I was interested to learn more. This book was not what I expected. Multiple times the author alluded to speculation and theories with none to little factual evidence. [trigger warning] I was disturbed by the sections on pedophilia and Lolita.
Additionally, there were sections that seemed repetitive and sections that discussed the idea that Alice in Wonderland *inspired* some of these dark facets, but it wasn't the story itself. There was a lot of speculation and I found the book to be reflecting on the inspiration of Alice in Wonderland as the story origins itself and found that to be inaccurate in my opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Pen & Sword for the opportunity to read this e-arc. All opinions are my own.

the content of the book was good. definitely a lot of information i never knew and was very interested to learn. i would absolutely recommend this to anyone who’s an alice in wonderland fan looking to discover more about the origin of the story, and how it has become so popular and weaved into so much of our society today. however, this book kind of read like an essay you’re trying to reach the word count for so you’re constantly repeating the same information over and over again. the author reintroduces the book at the beginning of every chapter, as if he expects his reader to have never read alice in wonderland, or at least has forgotten about it since the last chapter. it was enjoyable, but kind of overwhelming.


(arc provided by netgallery and pen and sword history. all thoughts and opinions are my own)

💫 Book Review 💫

The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland by Angela Youngman
Publication Date 31st March 2021

Thank you to @netgalley and @penswordbooks for my advanced readers copy, in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book quite blindly as Whilst I know all about Alice (one of my childhood favourite stories) I had not heard of the darker side of Alice or Lewis Caroll.

Reading about Caroll/Dodgson did make for uncomfortable reading, so I had to remind myself that I shouldn’t judge those times, based on today’s standards, as there is no comparison.

I enjoyed reading about how Alice was viewed differently by so many people, my favourite chapter was ‘Lolita Alice’

I feel that this book would hold the interest of any history fan, especially those with an interest in Jack the Ripper who was discussed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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What a great book thoroughly enjoyed throughout read it super quick didnt want to put it down....would definitely recommend this book to others

Before reading this book, my knowledge about Alice in Wonderland was what I remembered from reading it several years ago. As far as its author and the real-life Alice, I had heard of the controversy and confusion regarding the relationship between them. When I first saw this title, many different ways of interpreting this title came to mind. Did this dark side concern: the author; his relationship with Alice Lindell; the book; or the Alice character? After reading this book, the answer is yes.
In her book The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland, Angela Youngman uses her skill as a reporter to explore what I mentioned previously. We are then given ways on how these have influenced hobbies (Murder mystery Alice); movies (Horror Alice); art (surreal Alice); politics (Bizarre Alice); alternative lifestyles (X-rated and Banned Alice, Drug Alice, Occult Alice); and ways of thinking (Mad Alice: psychiatry, specifically Freudian). The early chapters gave me the backstory that I lacked, laying the foundation for what was to follow.
A favorite chapter of mine is titled Lolita Alice (chapter five) where the “cultural collision between East and West regarding the “Alice concept” is unfolded. The Japanese, for example, have embraced Alice in Wonderland, seeing elements in common with their legends and myths. Alice is sweet, and innocent; the shojo (little woman) between the ages of seven and eighteen. The term “Lolita” is used to denote a delicate and doll-like way of acting and dressing. The image of Alice/shojo Lolita can be seen in Manga, Anime, fashion (Sweet Lolita, Gothic Lolita, Classic Lolita), and culture. The term “Lolita” is used to denote delicacy and a doll—like way of dressing and acting. Western society is very much the opposite. As an “Alice” novice, this was all very engaging and enlightening.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to explore The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland.
I would like to thank NetGalley, and Pen & Sword Books Ltd for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not my favorite book, but I finished it. I love anything that is a retelling usually. This was a bit much for me. Not sure I would recommend it.

I just couldn't finish it... And that doesn't really happen to me. I really like the history of things but this couldn't keep me interested. I felt like I was getting through a history book for school. Although for readers who want a in dept history of this literary piece this can be a great book. For me this lacked an entertaining factor.

Fascinating, I learned so many things that I didn’t know I didn’t know! There is so much delving to do on this subject and it is absolutely fascinating, just as you think that all subject matter has been exhausted then the author opens yet more doors to your mind. Despite reading fairly extensively about this era I hadn’t realised quite the double standards in Victorian ideas of what was proper in terms of children and sexuality particularly, parts this book describes are more than shocking to our modern sensibilities. I also hadn’t realised that Lewis Carroll had been suggested as a potential identity for Jack the Ripper and I enjoyed the arguments for and against discussed in the book in a very balanced and non biased way. I also thoroughly enjoyed the analysis of psychological conditions both suggested by the characters in the books and in Lewis Carroll himself. Altogether a very thorough and very satisfying read.

As an Alice in Wonderland aficionado, I was extremely excited to read this book. I knew some sparse details about Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, but was excited to learn more about the mysterious writer of my favorite tale. Not only did this book discuss some of the gossip that has followed Dodgson around for years (questions ranging from, did he have an unhealthy relationship with young girls? to could he possibly have been Jack the Ripper?), it also delved into the different ways that the story of Alice in Wonderland has influenced society - through books, film, celebrations, style and couture, pornography, food, video games, etc etc. This book was interesting, though I found some of the chapters to be more tedious to get through than others. Overall, it was a fun quick little read.

Alice in Wonderland has long been a beloved children's book, but there is a side to the story that most didn't know. After reading this book, I was blown away with the amount of information that was presented! Holy moly! I had no clue that Alice was based on a real person, or that she distanced herself from the author.

The different nuances that are presented in this book will have you rethinking the way you look at this classic children's story, and make you want to read it again - to see if you can pick up on anything that was mentioned in this book! I know that I am going to be reading it a bit deeper than I did before.

Informative and engaging! This book was everything I hoped it would be and more!