The Iron Man (novel)

The Iron Man

Adamson cover of first edition
Author	Ted Hughes
Illustrator	George Adamson (first) Andrew Davidson (1985)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Published	1968 (Faber and Faber, UK) 1968 (Harper & Row, US) 1985 (Faber and Faber, int'l) 1999 (Knopf, 30th Anniv. Ed.)
Media type	Print
Pages	59 pp.
Followed by	The Iron Woman

The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights is a 1968 science fiction novel by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, first published by Faber and Faber in the U.K. with illustrations by George Adamson. Described by some as a modern fairy tale, it describes the unexpected arrival in England of a giant "metal man" of unknown origin who rains destruction on the countryside by attacking industrial farm equipment, before befriending a small boy and defending the world from a monster from outer space. Expanding the narrative beyond a criticism of warfare and inter-human conflict, Hughes later wrote a sequel, The Iron Woman (1993), describing retribution based on environmental themes related to pollution.

The first North American edition was also published in 1968, by Harper & Row with illustrations by Robert Nadler. Its main title was changed to The Iron Giant, and internal mentions of the metal man changed to iron giant, to avoid confusion with the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. American editions have continued the practice as Iron Man has become a multimedia franchise.

Faber and Faber published a new edition in 1985 with illustrations by Andrew Davidson, for which Hughes and Davidson won the Kurt Maschler Award, or the Emils. From 1982 to 1999 that award recognised one British "work of imagination for children, in which text and illustration are integrated so that each enhances and balances the other." The 1985 Davidson edition was published in Britain and America (retaining 'giant') and there were re-issues with the Davidson illustrations, including some with other cover artists. Yet the novel has been re-illustrated by at least two others, Dirk Zimmer and Laura Carlin (current, Walker Books).Pete Townshend produced a musical adaptation in 1989.