'Lewis Carroll, we could say, created the whole of children's literature with these wonderful stories.

Placing a child at the centre of a narrative that was entirely free of instruction, entirely devoted to delight, was a stroke of genius.

The Alices are the greatest nonsense ever written, and far greater, in my view, than most sense.'Philip Pullman Lewis Carroll's classic tale began as a story told to a group of children on a boating picnic in 1862 and was first published as Alice's Adventures Under Ground three years later and it has been a favourite with children and adults ever since.

Alice's adventures down the rabbit hole, in particular the strange characters she meets there - the constantly grinning Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts - have become world-famous.

This edition brings together new abridged text with more than 50 stunning illustrations by Robert Ingpen, each reflecting his unique style and extraordinary imagination in visualising this enchanting story.