Carlo Collodi

Carlo Collodi (1826–1890), the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini, was an Italian writer and journalist who brought political humor, educational writing and children's storytelling into a singular literary career. He began publishing the puppet's story in installments in 1881; the completed book appeared in 1883 as The Adventures of Pinocchio. Its unruly wooden hero is repeatedly tempted by shortcuts, spectacle and easy promises, so freedom becomes inseparable from work, consequence and responsibility. The book's comic cruelty and sudden transformations keep it from becoming a simple lesson in obedience: Pinocchio must learn to judge the adults and institutions around him as well as his own impulses. The Adventures of Pinocchio is the essential starting point, especially in a complete text that preserves the tale's dark wit and social observation.