''Automated Alice'' is a fantasy novel by British author

Jeff Noon Jeff Noon (born 1957 in Droylsden, Lancashire, England) is a British novelist, short story, short story writer and playwright whose works make use of word play and fantasy. Noon's speculative fiction books have ties to the works of writers such ...

, first published in 1996. The book follows Alice's travels to a future

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

city populated by ''Newmonians'', ''Civil Serpents'' and a vanishing cat. The book was written as both the third book in the Vurt series and the " trequel" to the famous

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

books, ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'' (1865) and ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' (1871).

Plot summary

The story of ''Automated Alice'' tells of the character of Alice from Lewis Carroll's books in a future version of

, England. After following her Great Aunt Ermintrude's parrot

Whippoorwill The eastern whip-poor-will (''Antrostomus vociferus'') is a medium-sized (22–27 cm; 8.7-10.6 ins.) bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less o ...

through a grandfather clock, Alice and Alice's doll Celia get lost in a world inhabited by ''Newmonians'', entities made from two objects combined, for example a

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

and a

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

Characters

* Alice 1996 British novels 1996 fantasy novels 1996 science fiction novels Novels by Jeff Noon Books based on Alice in Wonderland British steampunk novels British science fiction novels Novels set in Manchester Doubleday (publisher) books Sequel novels Vurt (novel series) {{1990s-sf-novel-stub