In the early days of the Little, Big Project, just when we were settling rather firmly on the idea of interweaving details from Peter Milton's art with the novel's text, I received an impassioned query from Richard Kirk seeking to be the artist for our edition. He sent a large print of an original work created with Little, Big in mind, portraying the freshly miniaturized Mrs. Underhill, Lilac, and the Stork they rode swooping around Sophie's bedroom. It was delicate and haunting and arrestingly vivid, full of vitality even as it portrayed a weird listlessness in all of the figures, a pervasive ennui; I found it filled with a despair wholly absent from the paragraphs it sought to portray. I sent it on to Magister Crowley, who was similarly impressed and similarly taken aback. There was never any question of changing our direction, yet we both remarked that there was more than enough room in the world for several "illustrated" editions of Little, Big, suitably spread out over the years, and part of me hopes that some day Mr. Kirk will have a chance to create art for one of them. I've seen very little of his work since, and precious little then; your praise reminds me that I look forward to one day seeing more of his work, though not yet -- not quite yet.