Black Rainbows Press

A note from the author…

It seems as though this little fiction has caused the hackles of a number of people to rise up, and for various charges to be levelled at me ranging from “ethical” to “legal” problems in using the Carroll name. I am more than willing to clear up any confusion over the matter, though I do not offer this as a “defense” as no “offense” was intended; in all descriptions of the book I told my publisher to make it clear that this book is “metafictional”, a fiction about a fiction presented as fact. Carroll’s name is attached to it because the conceit is that it is a “discovered” first draft written at the end of his life. It was written as a homage to the Alice books, and as a sort of psychological portrait of Carroll (albeit not a “photo realistic” portrait; sick to death of him being portrayed as a drug fiend or a pedophile, I sought to look at his religious beliefs as the fuel for his creative energy.)

I love the Alice books, and having read some brilliant continuations of her adventures, I hoped to write something that would be as much as a tribute as other (more talented) writers before me have written.

As for the pseudepigraphical aspect, my reasons for using Carroll’s name are two fold; first, it was a very common practice years ago for people to sign books under the name of someone whom they greatly admired (which is how someone like Raymond Lully appears to have written a staggering amount of mystic thought over a period longer than a human lifetime.) It was always intended as a mark of respect. Secondly, there is a certain amount of Carroll’s own ideas and material (particularly in the appendices) woven through the work, so in that sense also his name is justified in appearing on the cover. There is no “legal” or “ethical” duplicity at play here; first, all of the man’s works are long out of copyright, and second, a question…

How many publishers have made money out of reprinting his works over the years, and how many side projects based on his creations (from American McGee’s video game “Alice” to the Tim Burton live action film) have also profited by plundering his texts? At least I created the bulk of the material here, and only apologise for the fact that I could never reach the same heights of creative genius that Carroll displayed!

Kevin Sweeney

P.S.

The use of “sha’n't” and “wo’n't” in the text are in keeping with Carroll’s own favoured spelling, and as such are not errors…