Our trip to Blunderland — Story, Setting & Ideas

Three Boys and a Parody Premise

The story begins with three brothers—Norval, Jaques, and Ranulf—who have been reading about Alice and wonder if they could replicate her adventures. Their conversation reveals distinct personalities: Norval is the eldest and most rational, Jaques is eager but easily frustrated, and Ranulf is the youngest, often puzzled but persistent. When Alice herself appears, she offers to help, and the boys are whisked away to Blunderland. Unlike Alice’s solitary dream, this is a group excursion, and the boys’ interactions add a layer of sibling dynamics to the nonsense. The parody is explicit: the preface acknowledges “ALICEnce” has been taken, and the boys’ names are borrowed from Shakespeare and Scott, hinting at a literary playfulness that runs throughout.

Legal Absurdities in the Courtroom

A central episode is a trial that parodies the Queen of Hearts’ courtroom from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Here, the proceedings are even more chaotic: the plaintiff is locked in a box (a “Jack in the box”), the jury is thrown over the partition, and the clerk’s answers are a cascade of puns on “long” and “thyme.” When asked how long he has known the prisoner, John Doe replies, “Various lengths. I have known her from 2 feet 3 inches long to 5 feet 7½ inches long.” The boys struggle to follow the logic, with Ranulf sighing, “Doe and hart, hart and doe; I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.” The humor relies on legal jargon twisted into wordplay, and the boys’ literal-mindedness highlights the absurdity.

Illustrations by Charles Doyle

The book features sixty illustrations by Charles Altamont Doyle, father of Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle’s style is whimsical and detailed, complementing the text’s playful tone. The preface notes that the story was told in the author’s nursery, and the illustrations capture that domestic, intimate feel. Unlike Tenniel’s iconic Alice drawings, Doyle’s work is less polished but more fantastical, with elongated figures and surreal details. The illustrations are integral to the reading experience, often depicting the boys in exaggerated poses or the bizarre courtroom scenes. They ground the parody in a visual world that is both familiar and strange, echoing the text’s blend of homage and invention.

Our Trip to Blunderland rewards readers who enjoy wordplay and legal satire. The boys’ journey is less a coherent narrative than a series of set pieces, each riffing on a different aspect of Carroll’s work. Pay attention to the puns—they are the engine of the humor. The illustrations by Charles Doyle offer a visual counterpoint to the text, and the preface provides a candid glimpse into the author’s intentions. This is a book best read aloud, with a willingness to laugh at the absurdities of language and logic.

There’s a peculiar warmth in the courtroom chaos of Our Trip to Blunderland, that feeling of rules gone gently haywire. It reminded me, somehow, of an older collection I once browsed, where the mischief felt just as tender and whimsical. The Brownies and Other Tales — Inside the Classic carries that same quiet, slightly sideways logic, like a memory of playing pretend long after supper.