Roald Dahl’s stories lodge themselves in our imaginations because of their incredible hooks; unique inventions like golden tickets, the giant peach and that marvellous medicine. But the reason they’ve stayed, living rent free in our heads for so many years is Dahl’s ability to create an array of endlessly fascinating characters. From sadistic teachers to … Continue reading
Roald Dahl used to talk with some pride about what he called his ‘child power’. He couldn’t move objects with his mind like Matilda or wave a vengeful magic finger, no. What he believed he could do, according to biographer Jeremy Treglown, was ‘walk into any house in Europe or the USA and if there … Continue reading
One of my biggest bugbears when reading a children’s book is running into a lengthy song or poem. No matter how artful the rhyme scheme, or witty the allusion they never fail to pull me out of the story. Even when read aloud, verse passages only serve to annoy. My impatient children often demand I skip these sections entirely. … Continue reading
Some of the great characters from children’s literature take the Hare PCL-R test for psychopathy. Think of villains like Lord Voldemort, Miss Slighcarp, the Twits – extreme psychopaths. But what of the heroes? Psychopaths aren’t necessarily sadistic murderers, they can be people in positions of power: surgeons, politicians, CEOs of chocolate factories… Continue reading
One of his earliest published pieces, The Mildenhall Treasure is a rare example of Roald Dahl as reporter. The author’s preface to the story sets the scene beautifully: One morning in 1946 Dahl is at the breakfast table in his mother’s home reading the newspaper when his eye is caught by the story of Roman … Continue reading
December: ‘This, as you know is the month when two good things happen. The term ends and Christmas comes.’ In the last year of his life Roald Dahl wrote a diary of the changing seasons around his home in Great Missenden, intertwined with memories from his youth and spiky observations of the world around him. … Continue reading
I’m a big fan of the new Penguin Classics cover for the 50th anniversary adult edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But judging by the reaction on twitter and the media at large, I may well be in a minority of one here. The illustrator Sarah McIntyre has already put up a good defence … Continue reading
‘I must now regretfully become one of those unpopular giants who tells you WHAT TO DO and WHAT NOT TO DO. This is something I have never done in any of my books. I have been careful never to preach, never to be moralistic and never to convey any message to the reader.’ I confess … Continue reading
Voici Charlie. Bonjour, Charlie! Bonjour, bonjour et re-bonjour. In 1967 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published in France for the first time. As I mentioned in my previous article this was nearly a full year before any British publisher thought it worthy of publication. It came with brand new illustrations by Michel Siméon the … Continue reading
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the most important children's book of all time. Not his best, and not my favourite but definitely the most important. It's the book's fiftieth anniversary this year so I thought I'd take the opportunity to explain why it's so damn IMPORTANT, and while I’m at it showcase some of … Continue reading
It’s a great shame that Roald Dahl never actually wrote any full length Christmas stories. The subject is the perfect territory for him. Christmas delivers all the trappings of a good morality tale, with its mixture of greedy children, stupid adults spoiling them and in Father Christmas, a central figure who is a mixture of … Continue reading
In ‘Miss Honey’s Cottage’ a small, clever girl walks to her teacher’s home in the woods. Inside the hovel, kind Miss Honey prepares her pupil tea and bread with margarine. Chapter 16 of Matilda doesn’t have the most thrilling synopsis you’ll ever read, but this is undoubtedly one of my favourite chapters in all … Continue reading
We’ve seen witches round these parts before – in a Czech edition of the Roald Dahl story illustrated by Adolf Born. And here they are again, this time drawn by German illustrator Amelie Glienke. So why are there all these different versions of this book, particularly as it’s one of Quentin Blake’s finest Dahl collaborations? … Continue reading
Lane Smith is one of the great American illustrators of recent times. His work proves the point of this series of articles: No matter how beloved and wonderful the Blake / Dahl partnership was, it’s a crying shame that Penguin don’t give contemporary artists the chance to give us their take, show us some new perspectives. Continue reading
Wes Anderson’s stop-motion adaptation of Fantastic Mr Fox is undoubtedly the best film of any of Dahl’s children’s books. But I was a bit unsure about the ending (spoiler alert). The original sees the Fox family ingeniously outwitting the waiting farmers by tunnelling into their store rooms and feasting on their supplies. Anderson takes them … Continue reading
September 13th is Roald Dahl’s birthday. But before you stick your face in the chocolate lake in celebration, first gorge on these pictures from the original edition of The Magic Finger. The Magic Finger was the first Dahl book I remember reading. As an introduction to his children’s books it’s slightly unrepresentative, and perhaps … Continue reading
In 1993, between finishing school and going to University, I spent a few months in Prague. I think you’d call this a gap year these days; time to fill with all sorts of worthwhile things such as helping lepers, that might one day help you get a menial job that isn’t going to pay. For … Continue reading
As much as I love Quentin Blake, I’m slightly disappointed that his are the only editions of Roald Dahl’s books readily available to buy. I’d love to see his work reimagned by today’s artists. Happily Penguin Classics have begun re-printing some of his books with the original illustrations. In the mean time here is the … Continue reading
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