Chapter Seven Notes & Illustrations

[manniness]

Because I actually had to do RESEARCH (gasp!panic!) for this book, I'm including various background information that would be well-known to Alice or Tarrant (or both) but not to us here in Modern Day. 

Chapter Seven Notes:

1. Here are images of the hat Tarrant crafts for Alice to use in London. The black and white ink drawing is by me (Manniness). The colored version was completed (very generously) by a friend of mine, CROWe, when I confessed that my inability to “see” the hat was causing a rather uncomfortable blockage in my writings. (^__~)

     

2. Yes, they did have kaleidoscopes in Victorian England. Invented in 1816.

3. And yes, there was some Serious Air Pollution in London during this time period. Sewage + coal fires + unwashed masses = Gag to the Nth power

4. By 1870, several London institutions had been built: Big Ben, the South Kensington Museum (a.k.a. “Brompton Boilers” - industry and science), the Victoria and Albert Museum (art), the Crystal Palace, and Trafalgar Square to name a few. I checked. (^__~)

5. “Scut” is Outlandish for “a person’s rear end” – Check out the “Glossary of Underland” tag, Walt Disney’s Glossary of Underland, entry: Guddler’s scut. A “coal scuttle” is the bucket or decorative box that holds coal in a household.

6. I’m American. My husband is Japanese. So when I write of Tarrant’s fascination, curiosity, and amusement at funny coincidences and Alice’s rediscovery of a world she’s always taken for granted, I’m basing a lot of these details on the sorts of moments that really happen in an international exchange friendship or an international marriage.

7. Regarding the passage of time in Underland and Upland, I’m using the concept from Through the Looking Glass (found in Chapter 9) which states that several days or nights are had two or three at a time. According to the Red Queen, “Now here, we mostly have days and nights two or three at a time, and sometimes in the winter we take as many as five nights together – for warmth, you know.” So, generally speaking, Time passes more quickly in Underland. (But not always! He’s a temperamental fellow! Remember in Book 1, Mirana explains that if Alice goes through the looking glass without someone to hold it open, a moment, a day, or a week might pass in Underland during the course of one afternoon in Upland? Finicky guy, Time...) But, as Tarrant suggests, in times of peace, there are a lot of Lingering Moments and Several-Days/Nights-At-Once (as peaceful ones are easier to stack than action-filled ones!) which is how seven years in Underland equals about two years in Upland. (Which would also mean that between Alice’s first visit when she was six-and-a-half years old and her return when she was nineteen several decades may have passed in Underland! No wonder everyone was so obsessed with her being the “right” Alice and destined slayer of the Jabberwocky!! So, how does that work with everyone not aging? Well, I’m sure you’ve heard the saying: “You’re only as young as you feel.” And that just so happens to be exactly the case in Underland! And the reason for why Tarrant has been looking “younger” lately.  I guess being happily married can do that to a person!)

8. Regarding Alice’s absence from Underland (while she was apprenticing with the trading company) and the fact that three years passed in both worlds...? I haven’t forgotten to explain this! More on that in later chapters!  (Although I've given enough hints in Book 1 for you to be able to make a very good guess.)

9. For the purposes of this plot, I did some very BASIC research on the London Underground. While both Mansion House Station (comprised of three platforms) and Earl’s Court Station (comprised of six platforms) were opened for operation in 1871 (Alice and Tarrant travel to 1870 London) there is no evidence that dynamite was used in their construction. Case #1 of Abuse of Artistic License, m’kay? And I’m sure it won’t be the last...

10. Dynamite was patented in 1867, so it would have been available to those who could afford to purchase it. It was also vastly safer to work with than other known explosives of the time period.

11. This is my husband’s plot bunny. Oh-so-innocently, he wondered aloud, “Maybe Underland is in danger from London’s subway...” And then, later, when I panicked just like Alice over how to confront the problem, he said (he’s so smart!!!), “How about negotiating?” OMG, I LOVE YOU, SWEETIE!!!