Neil Gaiman fans, rejoice! The Ocean at the End of the Lane is getting a brand-new “fully illustrated” edition, with artwork by Elise Hurst.
“From the first time I saw one of Elise’s illustrations I knew I was looking at a children’s illustration for adults,” Gaiman said, according to The Bookseller. “And The Ocean at the End of the Lane has been described as a children’s book for adults. I imagined Elise illustrating it, and then did everything I could to make it happen. What she made was better than anything I could have hoped for.”
The artist herself gave a preview of the illustrations, which take inspiration from vintage children’s books.
“As I was reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane I was taken back to the novels of my childhood,” Hurst said, according to The Bookseller. “I saw the covers and the illustrations in my head, the feel of the paper and the smell of the binding. My illustration style is taken from the books of the mid 1900s but rendered with a more rugged edge as befits the darkness of this story.”
The Bookseller reports that the illustrated edition will be in hardcover, with its limited deluxe edition including a slipcase, ribbon, and art print signed by Gaiman and Hurst.
This isn’t the first time an artist has visualized Gaiman’s novel. Way back in 2013, when The Ocean at the End of the Lane was first published, frequent Gaiman collaborator Dave McKean did a series of full-color illustrations for a limited edition that was numbered at only 2,000 signed copies.
Hurst’s edition of the novel comes out November 5, 2019 in the US.
“Light indigo book cover with fake skin texture”by Horia Varlan is licensed under CC BY 2.0
