The Annotated Hunting of the Snark

The definitive guide to one of the most baffling epics of nineteenth-century literature — a companion to The Annotated Alice.

"It's a Snark!"...for whatever else can it be?

Published on April Fools' Day in 1876, Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark remains one of the most amusing and bizarre works of modern verse. Carroll, who completed this classic poem eleven years after the publication of Alice in Wonderland, invites readers along on a fictitious hunt to determine who — or what — the Snark actually is.

More than 130 years later, the indomitable Martin Gardner returns to the Snark with a trove of new annotations and illustrations, uncovering some of the most confounding literary, linguistic, and mathematical references embedded in any of Lewis Carroll's many works. Included in this gorgeous, two-color volume is an introduction by Adam Gopnik, as well as Henry Holiday's distinctive, original illustrations, a substantial bibliography, and a suppressed drawing of the infamous Boojum. With a host of other Snark resources, this is the most ambitious work on Lewis Carroll's masterpiece in many decades.

"Having prepared the definitive edition of The Annotated Alice (1999), prolific polymath Gardner has now produced the perfect companion volume, the definitive edition of Carroll's long nonsense poem, The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits (1876). Carroll may have written The Hunting of the Snark for children, but this enigmatic tale in verse of a group of adventurers seeking a legendary creature is a lot less accessible than the two Alice books to the modern reader, whether young or old. Indeed, many will find the annotations to the various literary, linguistic and philosophical aspects of the work of more interest than the poem itself. Besides the original Henry Holiday illustrations, this attractive package includes an introduction by Adam Gopnik, a new preface by Gardner, an extensive bibliography and an appendix of Snark sites on the Web. Even Gardner fans who own the original Annotated Snark (1962) will want this one. Look for a profile of Gardner in an upcoming issue of PW." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark, published in 1876, is provided here with annotations by Gardner. The original illustrations are included, and the annotations--which explain historical context, use of words, and other's interpretations of the text--are situated in footnotes in red print beneath the text. Gardner also discusses the theories about the meaning of the nonsense poem and supplies commentary, sequels, and interpretations by F.C.S. Schiller, James Albert Lindon, and Henry Holiday. A listing of editions and anthologies that include the poem is appended. This edition contains a new preface, and a new introduction by Adam Gopnik. Gardner is the author of many books, including several annotated literary works such as The Annotated Alice. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Lewis Carroll was a man of diverse talent in mathematics, logic, photography, art, theater, religion, medicine, and science. His famous books are among the most quoted works in the English language.

Martin Gardner is the author or editor of more than one hundred books, including The Annotated Alice. Now ninety-two, Gardner has influenced and inspired generations of scientists, scholars, and nonscientists. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma.

Adam Gopnik has been writing for The New Yorker since 1986. He is a three-time winner of National Magazine Awards for Essays and for Criticism and winner of the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. Raised in Montreal, Gopnik lived in Paris from 1995 to 2000, and now lives in New York with his wife and their two children.