One of the fabulous creatures Alice encounters
during her sojourn in Wonderland is the Mock Turtle. “I don't
even know what a Mock Turtle is,” she says to the Queen of Hearts,
who replies, naturally enough, “It's the thing Mock Turtle Soup
is made from.” One supposes that Alice, as well as those children,
her contemporaries, who read or were told her story, did know,
at least, what mock turtle soup was. I don’t, and neither do my
own children, latterly transformed into giants towering over their
father. They have never encountered Sir John Gielgud either, and
I wonder what they would make of the passage in this reading where
he assumes the Mock Turtle’s singing voice in a spirited rendition
of Turtle Soup:
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
It was at this point in Wonderland that my suspicion
that this might all be a bit too whimsical for children today
became a firm conviction.
Both books are read in abridged versions, whole
chapters omitted being preferred to condensing the text, though
there is a little of that too from time to time. Alice in Wonderland
begins with a reading of the poem which forms a kind of preface,
All in the Golden Afternoon, and which recounts how Carroll
first had the idea of inventing the story during a boat trip with
three young charges, one of whom was called Alice. Extracts from
six of Mendelssohn’s string symphonies are used as interludes
between the chapters of Alice in Wonderland, and also to
accompany the reading of this poem. This is undeniably atmospheric
music, but it didn’t seem to me particularly appropriate to the
text, though more so than the William Boyce symphonies which are
put to the same purpose during the reading of Through the Looking-Glass.
All the music is taken from Nimbus recordings, beautifully played
by the English String Orchestra conducted by William Boughton.
It was a pleasure, after many years, to come back
to these two books. They have both been subjected to much analysis,
but in truth there seems to be little hidden meaning or moral
intended. I was particularly struck by the quality of much of
the poetry. ‘You are old, Father William’ is delicious
stuff, and Jabberwocky is a masterpiece. The Walrus
and the Carpenter is marvellous too, though perhaps slightly
overlong. The story of Alice in Wonderland is more varied
than that of Through the Looking-Glass, and the characters
more droll, but I do think that the distance in time which separates
us from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) is now so great
that today’s children will have difficulty identifying with Alice
or wishing to accompany her on her adventures.
Sir John reads these two works in – the expression
is chosen with care – inimitable fashion. His voice is instantly
recognisable, and his admirers will know what I mean, I think,
when I say that he brings each character vividly to life without
ever losing sight of his own. In no way does his voice ever become
that of Alice, the Queen or Humpty Dumpty. Delightful though it
is in its way, I think it much more suited to an adult audience
than to one of children.
The four discs are accompanied by a handsome booklet
in which each chapter recorded is illustrated by one of the beautiful
original drawings by John Tenniel.
William Hedley
Sir John Gielgud
(reader)
