David Day on analyzing Wonderland

When he was asked to write a book examining the hidden meanings in Lewis Carroll's classic children's book, David Day figured it wouldn't be too much trouble. Released 18 years later, Alice in Wonderland Decoded delves deep into the layers of meaning — mathematical, philosophical, theosophical and beyond — that have captivated audiences young and old for over 100 years.

I'd just finished a book on Tolkien, where I had to deal with 35,000 years of history. Well, that was a walk in the park compared to actually figuring out what's going on in Alice in Wonderland! After two years I decided it was going to take a lot longer, and I ended up spending till now, 18 years on and off, working on it. I couldn't let it go, I kept getting deeper and deeper into it.

David Day's comments have been edited and condensed.