The Looking Glass Wars

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2004

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue

Part 1, Chapters 1-9

Part 1, Chapters 10-18

Part 2, Chapters 19-22

Part 2, Chapters 23-30

Part 3, Chapters 31-37

Part 3, Chapters 38-45

Part 3, Chapters 46-49

Part 3, Chapters 50-56

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Summary and Study Guide

Overview

Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars (2006) is a reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s Victorian fairy tale Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Alice Through the Looking-Glass (1871). The Looking Glass Wars is the first book in the middle-grade fantasy trilogy of the same name, followed by Seeing Redd (2007) and ArchEnemy (2009).

The novel uses several of Carroll’s iconic figures, including Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, and the White Rabbit. Beddor also continues some of Carroll’s motifs—whimsy, living chess pieces, cards, and mirrors (looking glasses)—and incorporates historical context around real-life figures such as Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) and Alice Liddell. The novel uses historically accurate details to frame the narrative as an account of the truth behind the real-life text of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

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This study guide references the 2007 Speak reprint paperback edition.

Plot Summary

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The story follows the conflict between Redd and Alyss Heart in their struggle for control over Wonderland. Wonderland is reimagined as a fantastical world with a matriarchal structure that is powered primarily through the forces of creation and imagination. In Wonderland, imagination is a tool that empowers the user to manifest things from their mind’s eye.