While new publications are always a thrill, I was especially delighted to find that Through the Looking-Glass: A Companion was featured by our publishers to explore what makes a successful book launch for future authors, through our two launch events.
They highlighted our unique settings – the birth places of Lewis Carroll’s famous novel, as well as that of Disney’s (and Burton’s!) almost equally famous movies, our engaging programming – our Spectral Science exhibition, and an authentic Victorian Phantasmagoria in Los Angeles, and an exclusive Special Collections Display at Christ Church, Oxford, as well as strong author presence, through expert panels and reflections at both Christ Church and in Los Angeles.
You can read more here – and order our book for your students & library here.
Delighted that our publishers selected "Through the Looking-Glass: A Companion" to reflect on what makes a successful book launch (or two!)šŖšUnique setting (birth places of Carroll's book & Disney's movie)šEngaging ProgrammingšStrong author presenceRead more:www.peterlang.com/article/the-…
Beyond thrilled to announce that “Alice Through the Looking-Glass” is published today!šŖIn 516 pages, 38 essays by 42 authors, this book offers a truly interdisciplinary exploration of the polymathic influences that shaped Through the Looking-Glass, the lesser explored sequel of Aliceās Adventures in Wonderland, covering the history of science, logic, philosophy, theology, literature, popular and visual culture, and translation, business, data science, writing, and the visual arts. And all that for only Ā£28 – get it here.
We are thrilled to extend an invitation to celebrate the publication of the book at Christ Church, Oxford’s Upper Library, where Lewis Carroll was once himself sub-librarian, on Friday the 27th of September – tickets are free, but booking is essential. There will be talks by contributors Prof Adam Roberts, Rev Dr Karen Gardiner, Catherine Richards, Dr Nick Coates and myself, a panel discussion, special collections display and wine reception.
I am especially grateful for the generous endorsements of Brian Sibley, BBC veteran and Chair of the Lewis Carroll Society, and Prof Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children’s Literature & Culture – Ā«This volume is colossal in all senses: most obviously ā at over 500 pages ā in its sheer physical heft, but most importantly in its ambition, scope and achievement. It brings an unparalleled range of approaches to bear on Carrollās neglected sequel and in doing so marks the arrival of an exciting new wave of Carrollian scholarship and enquiry. A comprehensive and illuminating companion to Looking-Glass and its author, it is also an exemplar of everything that collaborative, transdisciplinary scholarship can offer.Ā» – Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Childrenās Literature and Childhood Culture, Queen Mary University of London
Ā«This impeccably edited volume with its impressive assemblage of contributors addresses a diverse array of topics: the creation, illustration, translation and commercialization of the world beyond the mirror; discussions philosophical, psychological and theological; studies on logic and linguistics; and, fittingly for a nonsense classic, speculative examinations of the flora and fauna of the Looking-Glass World. This stimulating collection of essays is a timely appreciation of a literary masterwork too long overshadowed by its elder Wonderland sibling.Ā» – Brian Sibley, Chair of The Lewis Carroll Society
Today I took a copy of this book to its new home in the Library of @ChCh_Oxford where Lewis Carroll was once sub-librarian. Feels like a full circle moment.
Pictured: the book on the windowsill of Carroll's old office, w Cheshire cat tree.
Great pleasure being back at BBC Broadcasting House with Melvyn Bragg for BBC Radio 4 In Our Time, to explore all things “Alice in Wonderland” with Professors Kiera Vaclavik and Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. The programme will air on Thursday 15 February, 9am & 9:15pm GMT; it’ll be available as a podcast afterwards (with extra content!). If you can’t wait, you can listen to last time I was on IOT, speaking about automata, here.
If you’ve always been curious what Lewis Carroll’s Alice has to do with Science, Medicine and the Environment, this Saturday you’ll have a unique opportunity to find out in my online lecture for the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, where you’ll be able to get an exclusive preview for my two (!) forthcoming books on Alice, and my latest research in this field. The talk will be online, free, and, recorded, in case you can’t make it – and it’s this Saturday, 12th of August, 7pm British Summer Time, 2pm EDT & 11am Pacific Time. Zoom link & more info here.
Friday Rabbit Hole anyone? Catch me on The Colin McEnroe Show together with the brilliant Annie Rauwerda of “Depths of Wikipedia“, and nature writer Dominic Couzens, as we explore Rabbit Holes, from Alice in Wonderland and Greek mythology, via Jefferson Airplane and the Matrix to the depths of the Internet – podcast now available here and onĀ and all the usual podcast channels!
This hour is all about rabbit holes. Weāll talk about Lewis Carroll with @frankendodo, the feeling of going down an internet rabbit hole with @anniierau, and rabbit burrows with @DominicCouzens.
Thrilled that my – albeit slightly mortified – that my first audio book is now out in the open! Give it a listen! Here’s what Audible say:
“Itās easy to dismiss dreams as ājust dreamsāāincoherent visions, disturbing, odd images that donāt reallyĀ meanĀ anything much. But in stories, myths, and fables, dreams are vital. Theyāre often used as a literary device to provide insights and foreshadowing. Through the dreams in stories, we get to the heart of deep philosophical, scientific, and religious problems. Dreams allowed writers to transcend boundaries and confront things otherwise off-limits.Ā ”Ā
Not my average Monday! Yesterday I spent the whole day recording 'The Folklore of Dreams', a 6-part audiobook commissioned by @Wondrium which will be co-released exclusively on @audible_com – along with the latest release of Neil Gaimanās Sandman later this year (no pressure š¬)! pic.twitter.com/4MNDClWQsG
— Dr Franziska Kohlt š¦¤ (@frankendodo) May 10, 2022
In 2022 Wondrium commissioned the 6-part course ‘The Folklore of Dreams’ which will become available exclusively via Audible later this year. Aimed at a general, non-academic audience, this six part audio book will explore how we have imagined, and told stories about dreaming. It will follow these stories, and the symbols, landscapes, heroes, and demons that populated them through the ages, looking at science, literature and storytelling, wherever it happened. This is what the blurb says:
Sleep and dreams have always been among the most mysterious, yet essential, aspects of the human condition, so itās little wonder that a rich legacy of sleep-related myth and folklore has sprung from every culture across the world in every period in time. And these legends still shape pop culture today, linking, like an unseen thread, some of our most famous tales: the sleeping princesses of fairy tales, Morpheus in The Matrix, the nightmarish creatures in the dreamworld of Panās Labyrinth, the mirror worlds of Alice in Wonderland, or the Sandman myth in Neil Gaimanās work of the same name.
The audiobook will be co-released with the latest release of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – the precise release date is yet to be confirmed, but keep watching this space! Very grateful to the production team at Audible & at Bigdog studios, who really managed to record the entire thing in one sitting!
On the occasion of the bicentenary of Frankenstein I will be discussing our fascination with Gothic tales at the Birmingham Literature Festival together with contemporary Gothic and Horror writers Andrew Michael Hurley (The Loney and Devil’s Day) and Jess Kidd (The Hoarder) who will also discuss and read from their latest books. The session will be chaired by Dr Serena Trowbridge.
The event has now sold out, but watch the facebook event page for further updates.
I am talking about Alice, Dreams and Victorians, alongside wonderful Carrollians Edward Wakeling, Donald Rackin, Jenny Woolf and many more on the lovely 2-part CBC Ideas radio documentary “Curiouser and Curiouser” – part two is on tonight!
Click here to listen to the 2-part documentary online!
Dr Franziska Kohlt 