Introduction & Overview of The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

The Veldt Introduction

"The Veldt" is the first story in Ray Bradbury's anthology, The Illustrated Man. Published in 1951 by Doubleday, the book was a great success with readers and critics alike. It was the perfect follow-up to Bradbury's successful publication of The Martian Chronicles the year before, and it cemented his reputation as a great writer. The anthology is a collection of short stories, most of which had been previously published individually in pulp and slick magazines. Bradbury tied these stories together with the framing device of the Illustrated Man himself. Each story is represented by a drawing upon the Illustrated Man's body and the stories come to life and tell themselves as he brings each new illustration into view. Bradbury's use of a sideshow character as a framing device reflects his own interest in the world of the carnival and sideshow. As a young boy, Bradbury was fascinated by the grotesque...
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