 First edition cover of Clara in Blunderland | |
| Author | Caroline Lewis (Edward Harold Begbie, J. Stafford Ransome, and Michael Henry Temple) |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel, parody |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
Publication date | 1902 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | xvi, 150 |
| Followed by | Lost in Blunderland |
Clara in Blunderland is a novel by Caroline Lewis (a pseudonym for Edward Harold Begbie, J. Stafford Ransome, and Michael Henry Temple), written in 1902 and published by William Heinemann of London.[1] It is a political parody of Lewis Carroll's two books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). The book was followed a year later by a sequel, Lost in Blunderland.
The book is critical of the British Government's engagement in the Second Boer War and its subsequent domestic and foreign policy choices.[2] Prime Minister Arthur Balfour is represented by Clara, the equivalent of Alice, who "can get in a hole when no one else would have found it possible."[3] A number of other prominent politicians are represented by other characters from the "Alice" books: the Red Queen is Joseph Chamberlain, the Duchess is Lord Salisbury, Crumpty-Bumpty is Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Walrus is William Vernon Harcourt, the Dalmeny Cat is Lord Rosebery, and the Caterpillar is Winston Churchill.[4][verification needed]
The book features 40 drawings by journalist J. Stafford Ransome (credited as "S.R.") after the originals by John Tenniel.
Clara in Blunderland ran to ten editions.[3] It and its sequel were among a number of satirical works drawing on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland published around the turn of the century; others included Saki's The Westminster Alice (1902) and Charles Geake and Francis Carruthers Gould's John Bull's Adventures in the Fiscal Wonderland (1904), which also featured representations of Balfour and Chamberlain.[5]
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