The British Library has made Lewis Carroll’s handwritten and illustrated version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland available as an enhanced ebook.
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Also available are Jane Austen’s History of England - a 1791 work that the author completed when she was just 15 - and William Blake’s Notebook. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Codex Arundel is also available and includes the ability to flip Leonardo’s mirror writing.
Jamie Andrews, head of English and drama at the British Library, said the release of Lewis Carroll’s manuscript would give people the chance to explore a book that is so fragile that very few people are allowed to view it.
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The British Library’s eBook Treasures series is being produced by Armadillo Systems and the Library plans to release 75 titles over the next two years, allowing readers to explore some of the world’s most rare works.
The Library also has some apps, including one summarising British Library Treasures and another that contains scans of 19th century books from the Library’s collection.
Mr Andrews said the availability of the ebooks would be ideal for scholars, not all of whom are able to travel to London to view the original works for themselves. “It will democratise research,” he said. But he added: “There are still many important reasons why you would want to see the physical object.”
I recently read your blog post about Sleeping Beauty syndrome, and I actually have a short list of medical conditions with fairy tale names.
1. Rapunzel syndrome--a rare condition where sufferers consume their own hair (Trichophagia). Because the human body cannot digest hair, it collects in the stomach/bowels/colon as a ball, known as a trichobezoar. The syndrome sometimes occurs alongside trichotillomania (the compulsion to pull out one's hair).
2. Cinderella complex--Ascribed to women who have a fear of independence, and a desire to be taken care of by others. This is not wildly accepted as a complex, but is used as an explanation as to why some women stay in dysfunctional relationships. To be honest, I'm not sure why it's called Cinderella syndrome.
3. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, also called Todd's syndrome "is a disorienting neurological condition that affects human perception. Sufferers may experience micropsia, macropsia, or size distortion of other sensory modalities." Read more on Wikipedia.
4. Ondine's Syndrome, or Ondine's Curse--People stop breathing when they sleep, it's a rare and very dangerous form of sleep apnea. Read more on Wikipedia.
