 First edition cover ofClara in Blunderland | |
| Author | Caroline Lewis (Edward Harold Begbie, J. Stafford Ransome, andMichael Henry Temple) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel,parody |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
Publication date | 1902 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | xvi, 150 |
| Followed by | Lost in Blunderland |
Clara in Blunderland is a novel by Caroline Lewis (a pseudonym forEdward Harold Begbie, J. Stafford Ransome, andMichael Henry Temple), written in 1902 and published byWilliam Heinemann of London.[1] It is a politicalparody ofLewis Carroll's two books,Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) andThrough 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 theSecond Boer War and its subsequent domestic and foreign policy choices.[2]Prime MinisterArthur Balfour is represented by Clara, the equivalent ofAlice, 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: theRed Queen isJoseph Chamberlain, theDuchess isLord Salisbury,Crumpty-Bumpty isHenry Campbell-Bannerman, theWalrus isWilliam Vernon Harcourt, theDalmeny Cat isLord Rosebery, and theCaterpillar isWinston Churchill.[4][verification needed]
The book features 40 drawings by journalist J. Stafford Ransome (credited as "S.R.") after the originals byJohn Tenniel.
Clara in Blunderland ran to ten editions.[3] It and its sequel were among a number of satirical works drawing onAlice's Adventures in Wonderland published around the turn of the century; others includedSaki'sThe Westminster Alice (1902) andCharles Geake andFrancis Carruthers Gould'sJohn Bull's Adventures in the Fiscal Wonderland (1904), which also featured representations of Balfour and Chamberlain.[5]
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