Author Interview – Anna James – Alice with a Why

In this enchanting standalone retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice’s granddaughter, Alyce—with a Y—finds herself tumbling down into a Wonderland at war. The once-whimsical world is now divided between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon, and it’s up to Alyce, guided by familiar characters like the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat, to restore balance and find her way home.

As Kirkus raves, “This homage sparkles. Delightful in every way.” A pitch-perfect blend of literary nostalgia and fresh adventure, Alice With a Why both honors Lewis Carroll’s classic and reimagines it for a new generation.

Tell us why you decided to revisit Alice in Wonderland? Why was this story so inspiring for you?

I’ve always been fascinated by the original book – it’s such an important book for children’s literature and there aren’t many books that are as foundational to the collective imagination. The mix of wordplay and nonsense with so many iconic and beloved characters make it a really fun world to play in, but the relative lack of plot in the original allows a lot of space to create your own stories within Wonderland. 

I really enjoyed your mix of old characters (from the original Alice in Wonderland) with the new. How did you go about deciding who would be included from the original story and also what might compliment them with the new characters?

So firstly, I knew I wanted to only use characters that appeared in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (as opposed to Through the Looking Glass) so I had that list. And some were obvious like the White Rabbit and the Hatter who feel very integral to Wonderland, and I think people would hope to see. I really wanted to use the Caterpillar, but I only worked that out when a literal bookworm ate one of my books of poetry. Seeing all the tracks through the poems gave me the idea to make him a bookworm who has started smoking poetry instead of whatever he was smoking originally…! The main new character is the Fox, to whom my Alyce is sent, and who becomes her guide through Wonderland. This is a key difference between the original and my version, as Alice doesn’t really have anyone helping her; the Fox, while very much of Wonderland and its nonsense, is a steadier presence than anything that exists in the original.

So much of Alice in Wonderland is all the fun language choices, and you’ve captured that same feeling here beautifully. What was your writing process like to capture some of that essence of the original writing in Alice with a Why?

Thank you! This was both the hardest and the most enjoyable part of the whole book. I spent a lot of time just reading and rereading the original, and I also listened to a lot of nonsense poems on audio while wandering around the woods near where I live to try to get into those rhythms. I had a big list of idioms pinned above my desk as inspiration, too. I also really relied on Martin Gardner’s The Annotated Alice, which is a great resource for understanding all of Carroll’s references, so I went back to that often to try to sort of reverse-engineer that Wonderland feel. And then it was just a lot of trial and error—rewriting sentences until they had the right feel.

Some of the most vivid aspects of your story and the original is the setting. I think the setting is so important to your story, and I would love to know how you thought up the different settings in your story?

Wonderland really allows for a lot of flexibility; you can put almost anything in there.

Two of the key settings are the palaces of the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon, who are at war with each other. The Sun King was heavily inspired by Louis XIV of France, who was known as the Sun King and adopted the sun emblem as a symbol of power. He was also the king who transformed the Palace of Versailles and built the Hall of Mirrors, which is, of course, very Wonderland-coded. Accordingly, my Sun King also holds court in a hall of mirrors, although his courtiers are birds.

I took a lot of inspiration from history more generally; the place where Alice and Alyce live is inspired by Wrest Park, a stately home in Bedfordshire, England, that was used as a hospital during World War One.

What do you hope readers will take away from Alice with a Why (despite the ambiguous ending)?

As the last line suggests, I’m a big believer in letting readers take from books what they will but I certainly hope that readers who’ve lost someone will take some comfort from my Alyce’s journey through her grief at losing her father during the war. I think above all, I hope that young readers in particular come away feeling that words and language are a lot of fun. 

What are some of your favorite middle grade novels and why do you like them so much? 

My favourite middle grade author is Diana Wynne Jones who writes brilliantly quirky fantasy middle grade. My favourite classic is probably Anne of Green Gables, I think Anne Shirley is perhaps the greatest fictional creation of all time. More recently I’ve enjoyed reading Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, Dragonborn by Struan Murray and Greenwild by Pari Thomson. 

Now that your book is out in the world, what’s the next step for you?

As we speak, I’m currently on tour in the U.S. to talk about the book. I love touring and meeting readers and booksellers! Once I’m home, I’ll be editing the third book in my Chronicles of Whetherwhy series (the second one is coming out in the spring in the U.S.), and then beginning to draft in earnest my second Wonderland book! I always wanted to write two to mirror the two Wonderland novels that Carroll wrote, so I’m excited to get properly started on that. I’m also working on my debut adult novel, a rom-com called Good Fortunes, inspired by Pride and Prejudice and coming out in spring 2027!

Is there anything else you want to share about Alice with a Why for our audience of teachers, librarians, and middle grade authors?

Alice With a Why is rooted in a deep love and admiration for the original, which I hope shows. I also hope that readers who already have a relationship with Wonderland enjoy returning there, and that readers who haven’t yet find a bit of magic there and are inspired to seek out Carroll’s original two books.