Alice in Sunderland

An illustrated love letter to northeastern England

Despite the title, this is not a remix of Alice in Wonderland.  Instead, it’s a crazy quilt of history, art, mythology, and popular culture revolving around the twin axes of Lewis Carroll and the coastal city of Sunderland.  This big-format book is absolutely stuffed with fascinating facts and multi-textured artwork.  Here are a few things I learned as I read it:
• Lewis Carroll, who was a frequent visitor to the city, was not a tongue-tied introvert who could only relate to preadolescent girls.  In fact, Carroll was a witty conversationalist who was a popular party guest and had more than his share of adult female admirers.
• Sunderland was the hometown of the Venerable Bede and Gertrude Bell.
• The Dress Lodger, which was a bestseller in the early 2000s, is set in Sunderland.
• The Bayeux Tapestry can be considered Britain’s first comic strip. 
• Sunderland shipyard workers introduced soccer to Spain.
Alice in Sunderland is a great choice in graphic novels if you’re looking for something besides guys in capes or enchanted animals (though, to tell you the truth, this book has a few of both.)  Tons of fun.