J. C. Gorham

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Retold in Words of One Syllable J. C. Gorham

In the early twentieth century, great books were often "retold in words of one syllable" so that the language would be easier for beginning readers. In this adaptation, Mrs J. C. Gorham "cheats" only a little, hyphenating some longer words that couldn't be avoided-but the text remains a lively and enjoyable retelling of Lewis Carroll's classic tale. Recommended for young readers and for adult literacy classes. -- Mrs J. C. Gorham, alas, is known to us only by her married name-and this means, by the usual practice of the time, that her husband was named J. C. Nevertheless, Mrs Gorham is notable for having written three books in "Burt's Series of One Syllable Books", Gulliver's Travels (1896) and Black Beauty (1905) being her other two, with some eleven other books in this "series of Classics, selected specially for young people's reading, and told in simple language for youngest readers". Mrs Gorham's adaptation is a fine example of monosyllabic writing. Retelling in words of one syllable is indeed a "clever game" and it isn't easy to do -- not convincingly, anyway. Mrs Gorham achieved it: her retelling in simple language for younger and early readers is still worth reading today.