The Real Alice in Wonderland
A Role Model for the Ages
By: Cathy M. Rubin, Gabriella Rose Rubin
Published: March 2010
Format: Hardcover, 144pp
ISBN-13: 9781449081317
ISBN-10: 1449081312
Publisher: AuthorHouse
"Most of all we connected with Alice - Alice who did not seek fame, but when the world thrust it upon her, did her duty and triumphed", write co-authors Cathy M. Rubin and Gabriella Rubin, in their gorgeous, lavishly illustrated tribute to Alice Liddell, The Real Alice in Wonderland: A Role Model for the Ages. Creating much more than a coffee table book, the authors explore the real life and Victorian world in which their relative Alice Liddell lived her extraordinary life.
Cathy M. Rubin and Gabriella Rubin recognize that Alice Liddell's life was transformed by her family's association with author Charles Dodgson, better known to the world as Lewis Carroll. Through his two literary masterpieces, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll presented the topsy-turvy, and brilliant world encountered by Alice as she explored the inner world of Wonderland. What many people don't know, but the authors lovingly make clear, is that Alice was indeed a real girl, and that many of the events in the Wonderland books were drawn from the life and world of Alice Liddell. Cathy M. Rubin and Gabriella Rubin present the life and times of Alice, and in their view, Lewis Carroll couldn't have selected a better role model.
Cathy Rubin and Gabriella Rubin (both in photo left) understand that while Alice Liddell was very much a woman of her time, she also transcended her era and time in more ways than through literature. For the authors, Alice Liddell was a true role model for her time, for our time, and for future generations. Alice was a celebrity who maintained her best qualities, and utilized her influence to help further the rights of women, and of all people. Alice was a product of the Victorian upper classes, and had relationships with the elites and even with members of the royal family. Because of her connections, and her growing influence, she was able to work toward breaking down barriers for women in an era when such progressive societal advances were very difficult to achieve.
For me, the power of the book is how Cathy M. Rubin and Gabriella Rubin bring the real Alice to life. For the authors, this beautiful book, packed with photographs and drawings of Alice Liddell and her world wide influence, was obviously a labor of love. The photographs were selected with care, and their placement throughout the book, enhances the narrative and brings Alice Liddell to life for our time. While the book is a coffee table edition, the text within the book is more than sufficient to provide background and context for the many illustrations. The authors avoid the photograph and illustration book problem of too little context for the visual aids, through well worded, concise paragraphs and with carefully chosen literary selections.
I highly recommend the beautiful book The Real Alice in Wonderland: A Role Model for the Ages by Cathy M. Rubin and Gabriella Rubin, to anyone seeking a delightful visual introduction to the real girl and woman who was Alice Liddell. Much more than merely a character in some of the best loved books of all time, Alice was an important and influential person in her own right. The book displays Alice's loves, despair, courage and duty for all to see, in all her marvelous glory.
Read the landmark book The Real Alice in Wonderland: A Role Model for the Ages by Cathy M. Rubin and Gabriella Rubin, and discover for yourself the life and times of one of history's most extraordinary women. Alice Liddell was indeed a remarkable woman, and a wonderful choice as a role model for this or any age.
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