Phantasmagoria and Other Poems

What this book is like

This is a collection of Lewis Carroll’s comic and whimsical verse, including the long title poem about a ghost who politely explains the rules of haunting. The tone is playful, absurd, and lightly satirical, with the same love of wordplay and odd logic found in his Alice books. Reading it feels less like formal poetry and more like being told a cheerfully ridiculous story in a Victorian drawing room.

Anyone who enjoys Carroll’s sense of humor, or comic poetry that doesn’t take itself seriously, will find plenty to smile at. Hearing it read aloud brings out the rhymes, rhythms, and conversational asides much more strongly than reading silently. Expect witty performances, silly voices, and a comfortable, very British kind of nonsense.