After Alice: Gregory Maguire follows new girl down the rabbit hole

You may know Wicked author Gregory Maguire as the man who re-imagined The Wizard of Oz, spawning one of the biggest stage musicals of our time. Now the novelist has crash landed into another classic fantasy world — one he dared not touch as a younger writer. 

Maguire joins guest host Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss After Alice, his story about a second little girl, Ada, who tumbles down the rabbit hole in search of Alice. Describing Lewis Carroll's original story as Kafka for Kindergartners, Maguire also reflects on the dark side of fantasy lands, why children are more complex than we give them credit for, and how he came up with new characters — including a young boy fleeing slavery.

WEB EXTRA | Remember Ada? She was mentioned in the original Lewis Carroll's original classic. "I'm sure I'm not Ada, for her hair goes in such long ringlets ..." Hear an excerpt below.