Carlo Lorenzini died unaware of the fame that waited for his work; as in the allegory of the story, Pinocchio eventually went on to lead his own independent life, distinct from that of the author. Lorenzini (who wrote under the name Carlo Collodi) lived from 1826 until 1890. Near the end of his life, he became entranced by the idea of writing the tale of a puppet who had a heart and a mind -- Le avventure di Pinocchio, they called it as they published it in weekly installments in Il Giornale dei Bambini, the first Italian newspaper for children.

Though one of the best-known books in the world, Pinocchio at the same time remains unknown--linked in many minds to the Walt Disney movie that bears little relation to Carlo Collodi's splendid original. That story is of course about a puppet who, after many trials, succeeds in becoming a "real boy." Yet it is hardly a sentimental or morally improving tale. To the contrary, Pinocchio is one of the great subversives of the written page, a madcap genius hurtled along at the pleasure and mercy of his desires, a renegade who in many ways resembles his near contemporary Huck Finn.
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