Memories of Paul Edwards - & the Icelandic Sagas

John Updike: Memories of the Ford Administration (1992)

Alf Clayton, a struggling history professor at Wayward Junior College in New Hampshire, receives a request ... to provide his memories and impressions of the Presidential administration of Gerald Ford. Clayton has spent several years unsuccessfully attempting to write a new biography of President James Buchanan and the two projects intertwine as Clayton's mind shifts between them ...

- Wikipedia: Memories of the Ford Administration

I have to begin by admitting that I didn't know Professor Paul Edwards (1926-1992) particularly well. He was one of the Academics in the Edinburgh English Department when I first arrived there in 1986. Judging from those dates above, He must have been 60 at the time, and I have to say that he looked it. I haven't been able to locate a photo of him online, so you'll have to envisage a rather red-faced, overweight, Rabelaisian figure, holding court in his large office upstairs in the David Hume Tower, which housed all of us Hamanities misfits.

So why am I writing about him?

Eyrbyggja Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1973)

One reason is because I knew his name pretty well long before I ever got there - though the picture of him in my mind's eye was nothing like the reality. You see, I'd already developed into a bit of an Icelandic Saga-ophile (if there is such a term) over my undergraduate years, partly as a result of having studied Old Norse for a year under the learned tutelage of Professor Forrest Scott of Auckland University.

Hermann Pálsson (1921-2002)

Here's a list of the translations and books Edwards and his collaborator, Icelandic scholar Hermann Pálsson, composed on the subject, starting with Gautrek's Saga in 1968, and concluding with Vikings in Russia in 1989:

Paul Edwards & Hermann Pálsson, trans. Gautrek's Saga (1968)

1. [with Hermann Pálsson] Gautrek's Saga, and Other Medieval Tales (1968)
2. [with Hermann Pálsson] Arrow-Odd: A Medieval Novel (1970)
3. [with Hermann Pálsson] Legendary Fiction in Medieval Iceland (1970)
4. [with Hermann Pálsson] Hrolf Gautreksson: A Viking romance (1972)
5. [with Hermann Pálsson] The Book of Settlements; Landnámabók (1972)
6. [with Hermann Pálsson] Eyrbyggja Saga (1973)
7. [with Hermann Pálsson] Egil's Saga by Snorri Sturluson (1976)
8. [with Hermann Pálsson] Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (1978)
9. [with Hermann Pálsson] Göngu-Hrólfs Saga (1980)
10. [with Hermann Pálsson] Seven Viking Romances (1985)
11. [with Hermann Pálsson] Knytlinga Saga: The History of the Kings of Denmark (1986)
12. [with Hermann Pálsson] Magnus' Saga: The Life of St Magnus, Earl of Orkney, 1075–1116 (1987)
13. [with Hermann Pálsson] Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's saga and Eymund's saga (1989)

Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's Saga & Eymund's Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1989)

I managed to meet Hermann Pálsson, too, shortly after I first got to Edinburgh. We'd concentrated on one of the shorter sagas, Hrafnkel's Saga, in my year of Old Norse at the University of Auckland, and Pálsson had written a critical monograph about it - as well as translating it for the Penguin Classics (along with some shorter works, including the thoroughly charming story of "Auðun from the West Fjords," whose best friend was a Polar Bear ...)

Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories. Trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)

I believe it was Mark Twain who put it best:

There are three infallible ways of pleasing an author, and the three form a rising scale of compliment:

1. to tell him you have read one of his books;
2. to tell him you have read all of his books;
3. to ask him to let you read the manuscript of his forthcoming book.

No. 1 admits you to his respect; No. 2 admits you to his admiration; No. 3 carries you clear into his heart.

I can't claim to have gone much beyond first base on that list with Pálsson, but he certainly seemed impressed that I'd read his 1966 monograph Siðfræði Hrafnkels sögu (1966 - published in English as Art and Ethics in Hrafnkel's Saga in 1971).

The classic account of that saga is to be found in Sigurður Nordal's 1949 book Hrafnkels Saga Freysgoða: A Study (translated into English in 1958). Nordal's exhaustive analysis of the local names and kinship systems in the region where the saga is set demonstrated beyond doubt that it had to be regarded as historical fiction, despite the presence of a few genuine place-names and people.

Nordal's book constituted the final nail in the coffin of the then still-current view that the so-called "Family Sagas" were nothing more than careful records of actual deeds and events in medieval Iceland. That may be true - to some extent - of some of them, but certainly not of this tale of the priest of Frey, Hrafnkel's Saga. Pálsson's 1966 account of the saga builds on Nordal's pioneering work to flesh out the complex connections between pure invention and fact in this early piece of prose fiction.

Anyway, Hermann and I had a nice little chat about it all. He seemed astonished to meet an English student who could actually read in a foreign language, and was interested in the Sagas. That was certainly not the norm among my fellow post-graduates.

Eyrbyggja Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1973)

Forrest Scott, my Icelandic teacher in Auckland, was positively obsessed with Eyrbyggja Saga, the rather episodic tale of the People of Eyri (which includes one of the best ghost stories I've ever read). Not content with the original manuscript sources preserved in Iceland, he'd spent a great deal of time in Copenhagen, looking through all the older paper copies of the text preserved in the National Library there.

At the time I was rather surprised that his long-awaited edition of the poem never seemed to get any closer to completion - even after his retirement from the everyday duties of the English Department. Now, having retired myself from teaching at Massey University a couple of years ago, I think I understand him a little better. Books get harder, not easier, to complete as the years go by. The need to update and reformat all the work you've already done becomes more and more of an insuperable obstacle, and instead you decide to scribble a short article (or, for that matter, a blogpost) on some more easily circumscribed subject ...

Edwards and Pálsson's fluent and fast-moving Penguin Classics translation provided us students with a convenient crib to set alongside our own rough versions of episodes from the Eyrbyggja Saga, translated from the drafts of Prof. Scott's projected edition.

Magnús Sigursteinsson [Magnus Magnusson] (2007)

Penguin Books began their series of translations of the sagas under the aegis of Edinburgh-raised Icelander (and future TV personality) Magnus Magnusson - in collaboration, of course, with the ubiquitous Hermann Pálsson. These included:

1. Njal’s Saga (1973)
   • Njal’s Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1960. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972.
2. The Vinland Sagas (1965)
   • The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America – Grænlendinga Saga & Eirik’s Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1965. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971.
3. King Harald’s Saga (1966)
   • King Harald’s Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway – from Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1966. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971.
4. Laxdaela Saga (1969)
   • Laxdaela Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Magnus Magnusson. 1969. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976.

Presumably Magnusson got too busy with his BBC broadcasting duties after that, so Hermann Pálsson thought he'd have a go on his own - hence the appearance of Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories with him as sole translator.

Snorri Sturluson: Egil's Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1976)

Pálsson must have concluded that the task of transforming the stark, implication-laden prose of the Sagas into idiomatic English prose was one which required a native-speaking collaborator, though, because a positive stream of sagas issued from the team of Pálsson & Edwards from 1972 onwards, many (not all) of them reprinted as Penguin Classics.

Gongu-Hrolfs Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1980)

Paul Edwards had studied Icelandic in his youth, and his genial, informal approach to the subject - I remember him remarking to me once that he'd just completed an article on "spewing in Old Norse sagas" - definitely brought a breath of fresh air to the Penguin series.

I mentioned above his "holding court in his large office." You'll have to try and imagine a battered old wooden table, with him at the head, a set of glasses and a flask of (dreadful) red wine at his elbow, serving out drinks to all and sundry. There were loud guests and silent ones. I was one of the latter. But he was infinitely kind to me - even before I gradually revealed my respect for him and his work, and my love of the Sagas themselves.

More to the point, he offered me (and others) invaluable, non-pompous advice about how to navigate the strange cross-currents of Academic life, and particularly the crises of faith which tend to beset those working on large postgraduate dissertations.

I guess it was all so welcome because he did so strongly resemble Sir John Falstaff - with all of us cast as his tavern companions. A Falstaff without any of the malice and mendacity, though: just the ready wit and the endless desire for fun and good company. I wish I could go back and listen to him discourse just one more time.

Paul Edwards, ed. Equiano's Travels (1967)

The truth of the matter is, however, that those of you who've already heard of "Professor Paul Edwards" will probably be wondering why I'm concentrating so much on the Icelandic Sagas. His main claim to fame is undoubtedly the book above. It's just the tip of the iceberg of his work on African literature, mind you. He was, in fact, the go-to guy for such matters for most UK universities at the time. Wikipedia, as usual, provides us with a few useful facts and dates to get us started:

After completing his education he worked in West Africa for nine years, teaching literature in Ghana and Sierra Leone. The demand of his African students for African literature propelled his encounter with Equiano.

Daniel Orme; Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)

Encouraged by Chinua Achebe, and helped by the historian of Sierra Leone Christopher Fyfe, in 1967 Edwards published an abridged edition of Equiano's autobiographical Narrative in Heinemann's African Writers Series, under the title Equiano's Travels. He subsequently published a facsimile version of the Narrative, and another edited version under the title The Life of Olaudah Equiano.

He was, in fact, at the time that I met him, Professor of English and African Literature at Edinburgh. I guess if you're shocked at my description of him serving out red wine to students in his office on a regular basis you'll have to take my word for it that we did things differently then.

It was quite a shock to me when I got back to New Zealand to readjust to our rather puritan ways. In Edinburgh, all business and all social gatherings were conducted in the pub. Professors seldom stood their rounds, admittedly, but they were happy enough to have drinks bought for them by indigent students trying to curry favour.

It may not be anything to skite about, but you couldn't walk for more than a few yards down any street in Edinburgh without running into a bar. The city was awash with booze. I remember my first impression of it as I approached my hall of residence in a taxi was seeing a drunk throwing up in a gutter. "Auld Reekie" certainly lived up to its name.

Certainly my friends and I always gathered in pubs. You could sit in the corner for hours debating the meaning of existence, and you could even get a snack there if you were sick of the Student Union pizzas. Halcyon days.

It is a bit vexing that I can't locate a picture of Paul Edwards. I suppose that his legacy is really two-fold. On the one hand, there's the beautiful edition of the Sagas published by the Folio Society around the turn of the millennium, which includes a few of his translations alongside all the ones by Pálsson and Magnusson:

Magnus Magnusson: The Icelandic Sagas (2000 & 2002)

Magnusson, Magnus, ed. The Icelandic Sagas. Vol. 1 of 2. Illustrated by Simon Noyes. 1999. London: The Folio Society, 2000.

1. Au∂un’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)
2. Grænlendiga Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1965)
3. Eirík’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1965)
4. The Tale of Thorstein Stangarhögg (Staff-Struck), trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)
5. Egil’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1976)
6. Hrafnkel’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1971)
7. Eyrbyggja Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1972)
8. Vopnfir∂inga Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
9. Bandamanna Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1975)
10. Gunnlaug’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
11. The Tale of Thi∂randi and Thórhall, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
12. Njál’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1960)

Magnusson, Magnus, ed. The Icelandic Sagas. Vol. 2 of 2. Illustrated by John Vernon Lord. London: The Folio Society, 2002.

1. Ívarr’s Tale, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
2. Gísli’s Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1999)
3. Ölkofri’s Tale, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
4. Laxdæla Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1969)
5. Gunnarr Thi∂randabani’s Tale, trans. Alan Boucher (1981)
6. Fóstbrœ∂ra Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (1999)
7. Hrei∂arr’s Tale, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
8. Vatnsdæla Saga, trans. Magnus Magnusson (1999)
9. Hænsa-Thórir’s Saga, trans. Hermann Pálsson (1975)
10. Grettir’s Saga, trans. Denton Fox & Hermann Pálsson (1974)

The Icelandic Sagas. Illustrated by Simon Noyes & John Vernon Lord (2000 & 2002)

On the other hand there's the memorial volume Romanticism and Wild Places: Essays In Memory of Paul Edwards, ed. Paul Hullah (Edinburgh: Quadriga, 1998). I can't find an image of that online, either. Perhaps, instead, I can conclude with a (partial) list of his own works. They at least are, I'm positive, going to live on.

Paul Edwards, ed.: Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1989)

•

David Hume Tower renamed after racism row (2020)

Paul Geoffrey Edwards
(1926-1992)

Books I own are marked in bold:

Books:


1. [with Hermann Pálsson) Legendary Fiction in Medieval Iceland (1970)
2. [with James Walvin] Black Personalities in the Era of the Slave Trade (1983)

Essays:


3. "Black writers of the 18th and 19th centuries." In The Black Presence in English Literature. Ed. David Dabydeen (1985): 50–67.
4. "Three West African Writers of the 1780s." In The Slave's Narrative. Ed. Charles T. Davis and Henry Louis Gates (1985)

Edited:


5. West African Narrative: An Anthology for Schools (1963)
6. Modern African Narrative: An Anthology (1966)
7. Through African Eyes (1966)
8. Equiano's Travels: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African by Olaudah Equiano. African Writers Series 10 (1967)
   • Equiano’s Travels: His Autobiography. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African. 1789. Ed. Paul Edwards. 1967. London: Heinemann, 1982.
9. A Ballad Book for Africa (1968)
10. Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African. African Classics (1990)
11. [with David Dabydeen) Black Writers in Britain: 1760–1830 (1991)
12. [with Polly Rewt) The letters of Ignatius Sancho by Ignatius Sancho (1994)

Translated:


13. [with Hermann Pálsson] Gautrek's Saga, and Other Medieval Tales (1968)
14. [with Hermann Pálsson] Arrow-Odd: A Medieval Novel (1970)
15. [with Hermann Pálsson] Legendary Fiction in Medieval Iceland (1970)
16. [with Hermann Pálsson] Hrolf Gautreksson: A Viking romance (1972)
    • Hrolf Gautrekkson: A Viking Romance. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. New Saga Library 1. Edinburgh: Southgate, 1972.
17. [with Hermann Pálsson] The Book of Settlements; Landnámabók (1972)
18. [with Hermann Pálsson] Eyrbyggja Saga (1973)
    • Eyrbyggja Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. New Saga Library 2. Edinburgh: Southgate, 1973.
19. [with Hermann Pálsson] Egil's Saga by Snorri Sturluson (1976)
    • Egil’s Saga. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976.
20. [with Hermann Pálsson] Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (1978)
    • Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. 1978. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1982.
21. [with Hermann Pálsson] Göngu-Hrólfs Saga (1980)
22. [with Hermann Pálsson] Seven Viking Romances (1985)
    • Seven Viking Romances. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1985.
23. [with Hermann Pálsson] Knytlinga Saga: The History of the Kings of Denmark (1986)
24. [with Hermann Pálsson] Magnus' Saga: The Life of St Magnus, Earl of Orkney, 1075–1116 (1987)
25. [with Hermann Pálsson] Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's saga and Eymund's saga (1989)
26. [with Hermann Pálsson] "Egil’s Saga" (1976) & "Eyrbyggja Saga" (1972). In The Icelandic Sagas. Vol. 1 of 2. Ed. Magnus Magnusson. Illustrated by Simon Noyes. 1999. London: The Folio Society, 2000. 67-246 & 275-384.



Vidar Hreinsson: The Complete Sagas of Icelanders (1997)


Further Reading on the Sagas:


27. Blake, N. F. ed. The Saga of the Jomsvikings: Jómsvíkinga Saga. Nelson’s Icelandic texts, ed. Sigurður Nordal & G. Turville-Petre. London: Nelson, 1962.
28. Dasent, George. M., trans. The Saga of Burnt Njal: From the Icelandic of Njal’s Saga. Everyman’s Library. London & New York: J. M. Dent & E. P. Dutton, n.d.
29. Hight, George Ainslie., trans. The Saga of Grettir the Strong: A Story of the Eleventh Century. Everyman’s Library 699. 1914. London & New York: J. M. Dent & E. P. Dutton, 1929.
30. Hreinsson, Viðar, ed. The Complete Sagas of Icelanders (including 49 Stories). General Editor: Viðar Hreinsson, Editorial Team: Robert Cook, Terry Gunnell, Keneva Kunz & Bernard Scudder. Introduction by Robert Kellogg. 5 vols. Iceland: Leifur Eiriksson Publishing Ltd., 1997.
    1. Vinland / Warriors and Poets
       1. Foreword
          1. By the President of Iceland
          2. By the Icelandic Minister of Education, Culture and Science
          3. By the Former Director of the Manuscript Institute of Iceland
          4. Preface
          5. Credits
          6. Publisher's Acknowledgments
          7. Introduction
       2. Vinland and Greenland
          1. Eirik the Red's Saga
          2. The Saga of the Greenlanders
       3. Warriors and Poets
          1. Egil's Saga
          2. Kormak's Saga
          3. The Saga of Hallfred the Troublesome Poet
          4. The Saga of Bjorn, Champion of the Hitardal People
          5. The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue
       4. Tales of Poets
          1. The Tale of Arnor, the Poet of Earls
          2. Einar Skulason's Tale
          3. The Tale of Mani the Poet
          4. The Tale of Ottar the Black
          5. The Tale of Sarcastic Halli
          6. Stuf's Tale
          7. The Tale of Thorarin Short-Cloak
          8. The Tale of Thorleif, the Earl's Poet
       5. Anecdotes
          1. The Tale of Audun from the West Fjords
          2. The Tale of Brand the Generous
          3. Hreidar's Tale
          4. The Tale of the Story-Wise Icelander
          5. Ivar Ingimundarson's Tale
          6. Thorarin Nefjolfsson's Tale
          7. The Tale of Thorstein from the East Fjords
          8. The Tale of Thorstein the Curious
          9. The Tale of Thorstein Shiver
          10. The Tale of Thorvard Crow's-Beak
    
    
    2. Outlaws / Warriors and Poets
       1. Outlaws and Nature Spirits
          1. Gisli Sursson's Saga
          2. The Saga of Grettir the Strong
          3. The Saga of Hord and the People of Holm
          4. Bard's Saga
       2. Warriors and Poets
          1. Killer-Glum's Saga
          2. The Tale of Ogmund Bash
          3. The Tale of Thorvald Tasaldi
          4. The Saga of the Sworn Brothers
          5. Thormod's Tale
          6. The Tale of Thorarin the Overbearing
          7. Viglund's Saga
       3. Tales of the Supernatural
          1. The Tale of the Cairn-Dweller
          2. The Tale of the Mountain-Dweller
          3. Star-Oddi's Dream
          4. The Tale of Thidrandi and Thorhall
          5. The Tale of Thorhall Knapp
    
    
    3. Epic / Champions and Rogues
       1. An Epic
          1. Njal's Saga
       2. Champions and Rogues
          1. The Saga of Finnbogi the Mighty
          2. The Saga of the People of Floi
          3. The Saga of the People of Kjalarnes
          4. Jokul Buason's Tale
          5. Gold-Thorir's Saga
          6. The Saga of Thord Menace
          7. The Saga of Ref the Sly
          8. The Saga of Gunnar, the Fool of Keldugnup
       3. Tales of Champions and Adventures
          1. Gisl Illugason's Tale
          2. The Tale of Gold-Asa's Thord
          3. Hrafn Gudrunarson's Tale
          4. Orm Storolfsson's Tale
          5. Thorgrim Hallason's Tale
    
    
    4. Regional Feuds
       1. Regional Feuds
          1. The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal
          2. The Saga of the Slayings on the Heath
          3. Valla-Ljot's Saga
          4. The Saga of the People of Svarfadardal
          5. The Saga of the People of Ljosavatn
          6. The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and of Killer-Skuta
          7. The Saga of Thorstein the White
          8. The Saga of the People of Vopnafjord
          9. The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck
          10. The Tale of Thorstein Bull's Leg
          11. The Saga of Droplaug's Sons
          12. The Saga of the People of Fljotsdal
          13. The Tale of Gunnar, the Slayer of Thidrandi
          14. Brandkrossi's Tale
          15. Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson's Saga
          16. Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson's Tale
          17. Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson's Dream
          18. Egil Sidu-Hallsson's Tale
    
    
    5. Epic / Wealth and Power
       1. An Epic
          1. The Saga of the People of Laxardal
          2. Bolli Bollason's Tale
       2. Wealth and Power
          1. The Saga of the People of Eyri
          2. The Tale of Halldor Snorrason I
          3. The Tale of Halldor Snorrason II
          4. Olkofri's Saga
          5. Hen-Thorir's Saga
          6. The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey's Godi
          7. The Saga of the Confederates
          8. Odd Ofeigsson's Tale
          9. The Saga of Havard of Isafjord
       3. Religion and Conflict in Iceland and Greenland
          1. The Tale of Hromund the Lame
          2. The Tale of Svadi and Arnor Crone's-Nose
          3. The Tale of Thorvald the Far-Travelled
          4. The Tale of Thorsein Tent-Pitcher
          5. The Tale of the Greenlanders
       4. Reference Section
          1. Maps and Tables
          2. Illustrations and Diagrams
          3. Glossary
          4. Cross-Reference Index of Characters
          5. Contents of Volumes I-V
    6. Johnston, George, trans. The Saga of Gisli. Ed. Peter Foote. 1963. Everyman’s Library. London: Dent, 1984.
    7. Jones, Gwyn, trans. Eirik the Red and other Icelandic Sagas. The World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Pres, 1980.
    8. Turville-Petre, G. Origins of Icelandic Literature. 1953. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967.
    
    •
    
    Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney. Trans. Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (1978)
    
    
    
    
    •
    
    
    

Favourite Children's Authors: Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl (1916-1990)

There's a strange dossier of factoids about Roald Dahl at the back of the later editions of his children's books - the ones illustrated by Quentin Blake, after the two first began to collaborate in 1978.

The contents vary from book to book, but it generally includes a page of Weird and Wonderful Facts about Roald Dahl (including such gems as "He was a terrible speller, but he liked playing scrabble" and "His nickname at home was the Apple, because he was the apple of his mother's eye").

At the back of The Twits, we learn further that "Roald Dahl hated beards":

He never grew one and couldn't see why a man would want to hide his face behind a beard. He came to the conclusion that beards were grown to conceal something dreadful in a person's personality. He thought that beards were disgusting and dirty and that they always had food caught up in them. Mr Twit was one of the foulest and smelliest characters in all of Roald's books - and what did he have stuck to his face? A bristly, nailbrushy beard, of course.

On one of the following pages, under the title Roald Dahl says, we're informed that:

I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I'll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else. If you're kind, that's it.

There's clearly no need to extend it to people with beards, mind you, since they're already dead in the water so far as he's concerned.

There's more, much more: an exciting tour of Roald Dahl's Writing Hut (now preserved for posterity at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre); a copy of his Puffin Passport ("My most frightening moment: "In a Hurricane, 1941, RAF"; My funniest moment: "Being born" ..."); a somewhat hagiographic account of Roald Dahl's Family; a vocabulary of Gobblefunk (the language he invented for The BFG); A Day in the Life of Roald Dahl ("lunch ... a gin and tonic followed by Norwegian prawns with mayonnnaise and lettuce. At the end of every meal, Roald and his family had a chocolate bar chosen from a red plastic box"); a thrilling account of Roald Dahl's Adventures (which included once being forced to carry a heavy pack during a hike in Newfoundland, as well as the experience of having to beg for money for his fare back from France after making an impromptu daytrip across the channel at the age of 16); Roald Dahl Dates (very useful for the researcher); Roald Dahl's School Reports ("This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class"); Roald Dahl's Favourite Things (including a bottle of shavings from Roald's spine, as well as a ball of silver foil: "every day, during his time working in London, Roald squashed the wrappers of his Cadbury's Dairy Milk bar and gradually formed this ball; it weighs 310 grams"). Oh, and I mustn't forget: there's even a couple of pages entitled Meet Quentin Blake, where Dahl's favourite illustrator gets to share his experiences of working with the great man.

I suppose this kind of thing is harmless enough. Building up a cult of personality around your star author can pay big dividends - especially in the field of children's writing. Take all the fuss over J. K. Rowling's alleged preference for writing at a table in a café, for instance: even when it entails constructing a bespoke café along one wall of your stately home ...

The roalddahl.com website to which we're directed at the end of each of his books is, however, forced to start off now with a rather unfortunate disclaimer:

Roald Dahl's Antisemitism

During his lifetime Roald Dahl made a number of antisemitic comments. While we can appreciate and celebrate his creativity, we must also confront the harmful views he held.

The Roald Dahl Story Company (RDSC) apologises unreservedly for the lasting and understandable hurt that these antisemitic remarks have caused and the impact they have had. We condemn anti-Jewish racism and all forms of racism and prejudice.

Since our original apology in 2020 which was made in conjunction with the Roald Dahl family, RDSC has engaged in listening and learning from experts in tackling antisemitism, including the Antisemitism Policy Trust, which has supported us with advice and ongoing staff training to help us better understand antisemitism.

Whatever else he was, Roald Dahl was clearly a complex man - and unfortunately a long way from the kindly, even heroic, figure presented by these pages of data carefully curated for his legions of child readers.

Curiously enough, though, the allegations of antisemitism levelled against him - based mainly on a review he wrote of a book entitled God Cried, an account of the atrocities committed by the Israeli Defence Force during its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 - would now have to be seen in the context of Israel's recent genocidal assaults on the people of Gaza. His comparisons of Zionist with Nazi excesses - so seemingly outrageous back then - now sound more prescient than prejudiced. "I am not anti-Semitic," he explained at the time. "I am anti-Israel."

But there's no doubt that he also enjoyed being deliberately provocative at times. Here's Kingsley Amis's account of his first (and only) meeting with Roald Dahl:

Kingsley Amis: Memoirs (1991)

I have only once met this renowned children's author. It was at a party in the 1970s given by Tom Stoppard at his house in Iver, Bucks.
... Dahl was invited and duly arrived, late, after everybody else was there, and by helicopter. ... At some stage, not by my choice, I found myself closeted alone with him.
First declaring himself a great fan of mine, he asked, ‘What are you working on at the moment, Kingsley?’
I started to make some reply, but he cut me short. ‘That sounds marvellous,' he said, 'but do you expect to make a lot of money out of it however well you do it?’
‘I don’t know about a lot,' I said. 'Enough, I hope. The sort of money I usually make.’
'So you've no financial problems.'
'I wouldn't say that either exactly, but I seem to be able to ...'
Dahl was shaking his head slowly. ‘I hate to think of a chap of your distinction having to worry about money at your time of life. Tell me, how old are you now?’ I told him ... 'Yes. You might be able to write better, I mean even better, if you were financially secure.'
... I must have mumbled something about only knowing how to write in the way I always had. Never mind - what had he got on the -
He was shaking his head again. 'What you want to do,' he said, 'is write a children’s book. That’s where the money is today, believe me.’ ...
'I wouldn't know how to set about it.'
'Do you know what my advance was on my last one?' When he found I did not, in fact had no idea, he told me. It certainly sounded like a large sum.
‘I couldn’t do it,' I told him again. 'I don't think I enjoyed children's books much when I was a child myself. I’ve got no feeling for that kind of thing.'
‘Never mind, the little bastards’d swallow it.’
Many times in these pages I have put in people's mouths approximations to what they said, what they might well have said, what they said at another time, and a few almost-outright inventions, but that last remark is verbatim.
'Well, I suppose you'd know,' I replied, 'but I can't help feeling they'd see through me. Children are supposed to be good at detecting insincerity and such, aren't they? Again, you're the man who understands about all that.'
... At length he roused himself.
'Well, it's up to you. Either you will or you won't. Write a children's book, I mean. But if you do decide to have a crack, let me give you one word of warning. Unless you put everything you've got into it, unless you write it from the heart, the kids'll have no use for it. They'll see you're having them on. And just let me tell you from experience that there's nothing kids hate more than that. They won't give you a second chance either. You'll have had it for good as far as they're concerned. Just you bear that in mind as a word of friendly advice. Now, if you'll excuse me, I rather think I'll go in search of another drink.'
And, with a stiff nod and an air of having asserted his integrity by rejecting some outrageous and repulsive suggestion, the man who put everything into the books he wrote for the kids left me to my thoughts. I felt rather as if I had been looking at one of those pictures by Escher in which the eye is led up a flight of stairs only to find itself at the same level as it started at.
I watched the television news that night, but there was no report of a famous children's author being killed in a helicopter crash."

- Kingsley Amis, "Roald Dahl." Memoirs (1991): 305-7.

No doubt this much-quoted anecdote doesn't give the whole truth about Roald Dahl. Amis was, after all, a novelist, and no stranger to embellishing a story. It does, though, give some sense of how Dahl's massive egotism could strike a complete stranger.

Roald Dahl: Tales of the Unexpected (1979-1988)

Further information can be gleaned from Craig Brown's 2022 Daily Mail article "Why Roald Dahl was a spiteful BFG (big fibbing giant) (the title may give you some clue to the tenor of the piece):

‘He was a plagiarist, a racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and overbearingly rude,’ noted one reviewer last Sunday of a new biography of Dahl.
To this list, one might also add ‘malicious liar’. When Dahl came to write his autobiography, Boy, he chose to turn on his old headmaster, Geoffrey Fisher — later to become the Archbishop of Canterbury — accusing him of delivering ‘the most vicious beatings to the boys under his care’. He described one beating in detail. ‘The victim was told to wash away the blood before pulling up his trousers.’
But Dahl knew full well that he was pointing the finger at the wrong man. At the time those beatings had taken place, someone else was headmaster.
In fact, Dahl had always enjoyed a good relationship with Geoffrey Fisher, describing him as ‘frightfully nice’ in a letter home, and continuing to visit him as an adult.
As a successful author, Dahl had even sent Fisher a copy of one of his books, signing it: ‘With gratitude and affection.’ Moreover, when Dahl’s seven-year-old daughter Olivia died suddenly, it was to Fisher he had turned for consolation. Soon after Fisher’s death, he praised him in a speech as ‘thoroughly good’.
Why did Roald Dahl make these false accusations against someone he knew was innocent? The only possible explanation is that Dahl thought it would make a better, more commercial, story to pretend that his sadistic headmaster was the same man who had later been appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
For all his talent and charisma, there was, it must be said, something a little creepy about Roald Dahl. A friend of mine, who was once a regular visitor to his house, was surprised at how often he would bump into Gary Glitter there.
During Gary Glitter’s 1992 appearance on This Is Your Life, Dahl’s daughter Tessa was a guest. ‘Gary actually came to live in my house when he was between jobs ...’ she said.
‘When I was absolutely broke!’ laughed Glitter.
'My sister Lucy turned it into quite a successful venture because she used to pack the train full of her adolescent school friends in school uniform and then skive school ...’
At this point, you can see Gary Glitter putting his forefinger to his lips and miming: ‘Shhh!’
Who knows? If ever a TV company wishes to revive Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected, this might make the perfect episode.

Roald Dahl: Tales of the Unexpected (1979-1988)

Tales of the Unexpected was, in fact, where I first made acquaintance with Roald Dahl's work. I enjoyed a lot of the stories, which seemed cleverly constructed - if a little exaggeratedly cruel and dark. But if (like me) you have an unrepentant taste for tales of terror and the macabre, that's more of a recommendation than anything else.

Nor did there seem anything unusual about his choosing to front each episode himself. It was Alfred Hitchcock who began that trend - and by the mid-70s it had become so common that even poor old P. G. Wodehouse was persuaded to film some introductions to Wodehouse Playhouse (1974-78) shortly before his death.

But I always felt a certain curiosity about those "other" books of Dahl's - the ones I was clearly far too old and grizzled to enjoy - until, that is, they started to appear as films.

•

Mel Stuart, dir.: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

I'd seen Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, of course. Who hasn't? The one which really surprised me, though, was the original, 1990 version of The Witches, starring Anjelica Huston:

Nicolas Roeg, dir.: The Witches (1990)

The real star turn there, I'd have to say, came from veteran Swedish actress Mai Zetterling, who played the grandmother. But Nic Roeg did a brilliant job of reproducing the cartoony exuberance of the plot, and doing justice to its darker twists and turns.

I missed Jeremy Irons in Danny, the Champion of the World (1989), and I can't claim to have been too impressed by Matilda (1996), but I did enjoy Johhny Depp's take on Willy Wonka in the 2005 remake:

Tim Burton, dir.: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Now that I've finally cranked around to read the bulk of Dahl's opus for children, I can see what Wes Anderson was getting at in Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), but I fear that - for me, at least - the charm of the original was largely submerged by Anderson's self-indulgent whimsy.

Steven Spielberg, dir.: The BFG (2016)

The BFG, by contrast, seems a little undercooked. It's pretty faithful to the book, though, which I guess is a plus.

But what strikes me most about these films as a group is how extraordinarily fortunate Dahl was in his directors: talk about A-listers only! Nicolas Roeg, Tim Burton. Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, and now Robert Zemeckis in the recent remake of The Witches!

John Hay, dir.: To Olivia (2021)

The effort to portray Dahl himself in a favourable light on screen has met with rather less success. To Olivia, which tries to reproduce something of the atmosphere of the C. S. Lewis bio-pic Shadowlands, was found unconvincing by the majority of critics. Accused of being "burdened with clichés and guilty of glossing over troublesome aspects of its fact-based story, To Olivia," they concluded, "can't quite capture the grief it seeks to dramatize."

Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent clarified her own verdict as follows:

It struggles to reconcile the palpable image of a sensitive family man laid low by depression with the more complicated reality that ran alongside it – that of a sometimes-tyrant with a great capacity for manipulation.

The situation portrayed in the film is also complicated by the fact that "In 1983, following Dahl's 11-year affair with Felicity D'Abreu, a set designer he met when she worked with [his wife, Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal] on a Maxim Coffee advertisement, Neal's marriage ended in divorce." That was, admittedly, after Dahl had nursed her through a debilitating stroke, so you'd have to be a Solomon to try and apportion blame in the midst of such a concatenation of tragedies.

Another attempt to rehabilitate Dahl's image was made in Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse, the would-be whimsical account of an (allegedly) real meeting between the six-year-old Roald and his idol Beatrix Potter.

Dawn French plays the latter as so capricious and erratic a domestic tyrant that the young Roald comes off as almost normal by comparison. Despite a few laudatory reviews by sentimental journalists, it can hardly be said to have satisfied fans of either writer.

David Kerr, dir. Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse (2020)

But enough of all that. What of the books themselves?

It's probably too late for me to develop a genuine taste for them. I would have had to have been brought up on them, as so many children - it would appear - continue to be.

But they are, nevertheless, very readable, even for a querulous old curmudgeon such as myself. I haven't read them all, but I've read most of them - in a very short period of time, too. I'd rate them as follows, purely on grounds of personal predilection:

•

Roald Dahl: Matilda (1988)


1. Matilda (1988)

I guess I have to put this one first, as its heroine, a bookish child, is such a contrast to the obnoxious brat of the film adaptation. What a pleasant surprise!


Roald Dahl: The Magic Finger (1966)


2. The Magic Finger (1966)

An elegant fable, with an excellent moral about the cruelty of hunting.


Roald Dahl: Fantastic Mr Fox (1970)


3. Fantastic Mr Fox (1970)

Again - so much better than the film! A fine, Kenneth Grahame-like fantasy about furry animals in their underground city.


Roald Dahl: The Witches (1983)


4. The Witches (1983)

A great piece of storytelling: strikingly original in its treatment of the age-old witch theme. Perhaps the only one of his stories that works as well as a film as it does as a book.


Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)


5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)

A polished and interesting piece of children's fiction - so familiar now from its movie incarnations that it's hard to read it without seeing them in your mind's eye.


Roald Dahl: The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)


6. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)

Charming - if slight. Ideal for its intended audience of younger children, I'd say.


Roald Dahl: George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)


7. George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)

Very inventive, if a little over-dependent on ideas borrowed from H. G. Wells' The Food of the Gods (1904).


Roald Dahl: James and the Giant Peach (1961)


8. James and the Giant Peach (1961)

Probably the strangest of all of his books. There's little explanation of the setting and circumstances, but an undeniable magic in the basic concept.


Roald Dahl: The BFG (1982)


9. The BFG (1982)

I have to give it points for originality and narrative drive, though I fear it's all sounds a bit contrived to me. Certainly much better than the Spielberg-ised version.


Roald Dahl: Esio Trot (1990)


10. Esio Trot (1990)

Slight, but fun. I do find the basic concept rather cruel in its callous disregard for the rights of tortoises to basic comfort and dignity, but I suppose it's all in fun.


Roald Dahl: The Twits (1980)


11. The Twits (1980)

A nasty book about nasty people. The ethical level of some of his plots is a bit too carnivalesque for me: pratfalls and slaps in the face in front of a roaring crowd.


Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)


12. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)

This one is just plain silly. He'd have been better off leaving the original book alone.


Roald Dahl: Danny, the Champion of the World (1975)


13. Danny, the Champion of the World (1975)

Danny's father seems a most reprehensible individual, and the basic poaching plot is quite abhorrent. It's hard to believe that the author of The Magic Finger could also have come up with this.

•

I haven't yet read any of the following, I'm afraid (though I'd certainly be curious to do so):

Roald Dahl: The Gremlins (1943)


1. The Gremlins. New York: Random House, 1943.

Roald Dahl: Some Time Never (1948)


2. Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948.

Roald Dahl: The Enormous Crocodile (1978)


3. The Enormous Crocodile. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978.

Roald Dahl: My Uncle Oswald (1979)


4. My Uncle Oswald. London: Michael Joseph, 1979.

Roald Dahl: The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)


5. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke. London: Century, 1991)

Roald Dahl: The Minpins (1991)


6. The Minpins. London: Jonathan Cape, 1991.

It seems unlikely that any of them would be likely to alter significantly my overall opinions about Dahl, however.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the books. There are some excellent plots there, and while the characterisation consists almost entirely of sorting the personnel of each story into goodies and baddies, that's scarcely unusual in children's fiction.

Donald Sturrock, in his monumental (authorised) biography of Dahl, does his best to put a positive spin on every detail of his life. Whether or not the result is entirely convincing must depend on each reader to decide.

Perhaps the most significant facts about Roald Dahl are that he can still provoke headlines more than three decades after his death, and that the appeal of his work shows no signs of abating. What writer would refuse such a legacy?

Jan Baldwin: Roald Dahl in his writing shed (1990)

•

Roald Dahl (1954)

Roald Dahl
(1916-1990)

Books I own are marked in bold:

Novels:


1. The Gremlins (1943)
2. Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen (1948)
3. James and the Giant Peach (1961)
   • James and the Giant Peach. 1961. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1995. A Puffin Book. London: Penguin, 2013.
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
   • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Illustrated by Faith Jaques. 1964. A Puffin Book. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984.
   • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 1964. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1995. A Puffin Book. London: Penguin, 2013.
5. The Magic Finger (1966)
   • The Magic Finger. 1966. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1995. A Puffin Book. London: Penguin, 2013.
6. Fantastic Mr Fox (1970)
   • Fantastic Mr Fox. Illustrated by Jill Bennett. 1970. A Young Puffin Book. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984.
   • Fantastic Mr Fox. 1970. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1996. A Puffin Book. London: Penguin, 2013.
7. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
   • Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Illustrated by Faith Jaques. 1973. A Puffin Book. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984.
   • Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. 1973. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1995. A Puffin Book. London: Penguin, 2013.
8. Danny, the Champion of the World (1975)
   • Danny The Champion of the World. Illustrated by Jill Bennett. 1975. A Puffin Book. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984.
   • Danny The Champion of the World. 1975. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1994. A Puffin Book. London: Penguin, 1984.
9. The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
10. My Uncle Oswald (1979)
11. The Twits (1980)
    • The Twits. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1980. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2001.
12. George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)
    • George's Marvellous Medicine. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1981. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2001.
    • George's Marvellous Medicine. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1981. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
13. The BFG (1982)
    • The BFG. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1982. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
14. The Witches (1983)
    • The Witches. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1983. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
15. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)
    • The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1985. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
16. Matilda (1988)
    • Matilda. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1988. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
17. Esio Trot (1990)
    • Esio Trot. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. 1990. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
18. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)
19. The Minpins (1991)

Short Story Collections:


20. Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying (1946) [OTY]
    1. An African Story
    2. Only This
    3. Katina
    4. Beware of the Dog
    5. They Shall Not Grow Old
    6. Someone Like You
    7. Death of an Old Old Man
    8. Madame Rosette
    9. A Piece of Cake
    10. Yesterday Was Beautiful
    • Included in: The Collected Short Stories: An Omnibus Volume. London: BCA, 1991.
21. Someone Like You (1953) [SLY]
    1. Taste
    2. Lamb to the Slaughter
    3. Man from the South
    4. The Soldier
    5. My Lady Love, My Dove
    6. Dip in the Pool
    7. Galloping Foxley
    8. Skin
    9. Poison
    10. The Wish
    11. Neck
    12. The Sound Machine
    13. Nunc Dimittis
    14. The Great Automatic Grammatizator
    15. Claude's Dog
        1. The Ratcatcher
        2. Rummins
        3. Mr. Feasey
        4. Mr. Hoddy
    • Included in: The Collected Short Stories: An Omnibus Volume. London: BCA, 1991.
22. Kiss Kiss (1960) [KK]
    1. The Landlady
    2. William and Mary
    3. The Way Up to Heaven
    4. Parson's Pleasure
    5. Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat
    6. Royal Jelly
    7. Georgy Porgy
    8. Genesis and Catastrophe: A True Story
    9. Edward the Conqueror
    10. Pig
    11. The Champion of the World
    • Included in: The Collected Short Stories: An Omnibus Volume. London: BCA, 1991.
23. Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl ["Someone Like You", 1953 & "Kiss Kiss", 1960] (1969)
24. Switch Bitch (1974) [SB]
    1. The Visitor
    2. The Great Switcheroo
    3. The Last Act
    4. Bitch
    • Included in: The Collected Short Stories: An Omnibus Volume. London: BCA, 1991.
25. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977) [HS]
    1. The Boy Who Talked with Animals
    2. The Hitch-Hiker
    3. The Mildenhall Treasure
    4. The Swan
    5. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
    6. Lucky Break
    7. A Piece of Cake
26. The Best of Roald Dahl: Stories from Over to You, Someone Like You, Kiss Kiss, Switch Bitch (1978) [Best]
27. Tales of the Unexpected (1979)
28. More Tales of the Unexpected (1980) [MTU]
    1. Genesis and Catastrophe
    2. Georgy Porgy
    3. Mr. Botibol
    4. Poison
    5. The Butler
    6. The Hitch-Hiker
    7. The Sound Machine
    8. The Umbrella Man
    9. Vengeance is Mine Inc.
29. A Roald Dahl Selection: Nine Short Stories (1980)
30. Two Fables (1986)
31. The Roald Dahl Omnibus (1986)
32. Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life: The Country Stories of Roald Dahl (1989) [SM]
33. The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl (1991)
    1. An African Story [OTY]
    2. Only This [OTY]
    3. Katina [OTY]
    4. Beware of the Dog [OTY]
    5. They Shall Not Grow Old [OTY]
    6. Someone Like You [OTY]
    7. Death of an Old Old Man [OTY]
    8. Madame Rosette [OTY]
    9. A Piece of Cake [OTY]
    10. Yesterday was Beautiful [OTY]
    11. Taste [SLY]
    12. Lamb to the Slaughter [SLY]
    13. Man From the South [SLY]
    14. The Soldier [SLY]
    15. My Lady Love, My Dove [SLY]
    16. Dip in the Pool [SLY]
    17. Galloping Foxley [SLY]
    18. Skin [SLY]
    19. Poison [SLY]
    20. The Wish [SLY]
    21. Neck [SLY]
    22. The Sound Machine [SLY]
    23. Nunc Dimittis [SLY]
    24. The Great Automatic Grammatizator [SLY]
    25. The Ratcatcher [SLY]
    26. Rummins [SLY]
    27. Mr. Feasey [SLY]
    28. Mr. Hoddy [SLY]
    29. The Landlady [KK]
    30. William and Mary [KK]
    31. The Way Up to Heaven [KK]
    32. Parson’s Pleasure [KK]
    33. Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat [KK]
    34. Royal Jelly [KK]
    35. Georgy Porgy [KK]
    36. Genesis and Catastrophe [KK]
    37. Edward the Conqueror [KK]
    38. Pig [KK]
    39. The Champion of the World [KK]
    40. The Visitor [SB]
    41. The Great Switcheroo [SB]
    42. The Last Act [SB]
    43. Bitch [SB]
    44. The Hitchhiker [HS]
    45. The Butler [MTU]
    46. The Umbrella Man [MTU]
    47. Vengeance is Mine, Inc. [MTU]
    48. Mr. Botibol [MTU]
    49. The Bookseller [Best]
    50. The Surgeon [Skin]
    51. Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life [SM]
    • The Collected Short Stories: An Omnibus Volume Containing: Kiss, Kiss, Over To You, Switch Bitch, Someone Like You and eight further tales of the unexpected. 1960, 1946, 1974, 1954. London: BCA, 1991.
34. The Roald Dahl Treasury (1997)
35. The great automatic grammatizator and other stories (2001)
36. Skin and Other Stories (2002) [Skin]
37. The Complete Short Stories: Volume One (1944–1953) (2013)
    1. Katina (1944)
    2. Only This (1944)
    3. Beware of the Dog (1944)
    4. An African Story (1946)
    5. Yesterday was Beautiful (1946)
    6. A Piece of Cake (1942)
    7. They Shall Not Grow Old (1945)
    8. Madame Rosette (1945)
    9. Death of an Old Old Man (1945)
    10. Someone Like You (1945)
    11. The Mildenhall Treasure (1947)
    12. Man From the South (1948)
    13. The Sound Machine (1949)
    14. Poison (1950)
    15. Taste (1951)
    16. Dip in the Pool (1952)
    17. Skin (1952)
    18. My Lady Love, My Dove (1952)
    19. Lamb to the Slaughter (1953)
    20. Nunc Dimittis (1953)
    21. Edward the Conqueror (1953)
    22. Galloping Foxley (1953)
    23. Neck (1953)
    24. The Wish (1953)
    25. The Soldier (1953)
    26. The Great Automatic Grammatizator (1953)
    27. The Ratcatcher (1953)
    28. Rummins (1953)
    29. Mr. Hoddy (1953)
    30. Mr. Feasey (1953)
38. The Complete Short Stories: Volume Two (1954–1988) (2013)
    1. The Way Up to Heaven (1954)
    2. Parson’s Pleasure (1958)
    3. The Champion of the World (1959)
    4. The Landlady (1959)
    5. Genesis and Catastrophe (1959)
    6. Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat (1959)
    7. Pig (1960)
    8. Royal Jelly (1960)
    9. William and Mary (1960)
    10. Georgy Porgy (1960)
    11. The Visitor (1965)
    12. The Last Act (1966)
    13. The Great Switcheroo (1974)
    14. The Butler (1974)
    15. Bitch (1974)
    16. Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (1974)
    17. The Hitchhiker (1977)
    18. The Swan (1977)
    19. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (1977)
    20. The Boy Who Talked with Animals (1977)
    21. Lucky Break (1977)
    22. The Umbrella Man (1980)
    23. Vengeance is Mine, Inc. (1980)
    24. Mr. Botibol (1980)
    25. The Princess and the Poacher (1986)
    26. Princess Mammalia (1986)
    27. The Bookseller (1987)
    28. The Surgeon (1988)

Scripts:


39. The Honeys [Stage] (1955)
40. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Lamb to the Slaughter" [TV] (1958)
41. Way Out: "William and Mary" [TV] (1961)
42. [with Jack Bloom] You Only Live Twice [Film] (1967)
43. [with Ken Hughes] Chitty Chitty Bang Bang [Film] (1968)
44. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory [Film] (1971)
45. The Night Digger [Film] (1971) – Film script )
46. The BFG: Plays for Children [Stage] (1976)
47. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A Play [Stage] (1976)
48. James and the Giant Peach: A Play [Stage] (1982)
49. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator: A Play [Stage] (1984)
50. Fantastic Mr Fox: A Play [Stage] (1987)

Poetry:


51. Revolting Rhymes (1982)
52. Dirty Beasts (1983)
53. Rhyme Stew (1989)
54. Songs and Verse (2005)
55. Vile Verses (2005)

Edited:


56. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories (1983)

Non-fiction:


57. Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
    • Boy: Tales of Childhood. 1984. Illustrations by Quentin Blake. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
58. Going Solo (1986)
    • Going Solo. 1986. Cover Illustrations by Quentin Blake. Puffin Books. London: Penguin, 2013.
59. Measles, a Dangerous Illness (1988)
60. [with Felicity Dahl] Memories with Food at Gipsy House [aka "Roald Dahl's Cookbook", 1996] (1991)
61. Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety (1991)
62. The Dahl Diary 1992 (1991)
63. My Year (1993)
64. The Roald Dahl Diary 1997 (1996)
65. The Mildenhall Treasure (1999)

Secondary:


66. Sturrock, Donald. Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl. Harper Press. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010.

Donald Sturrock. Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl (2011)

•

Sin City Tow

Sin City Tow (2024)

If you roll the dice and park your car illegally in Sin City, odds are you're going to lose that bet.

That's the motto for the new US Reality TV series Sin City Tow, set in Las Vegas, and starring a variety of tow-truck drivers, gamblers, and other eccentrics of every stripe.

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; sometimes that means your car," quips the owner of one of the two competing businesses, Ashley's Towing, at the heart of the story - such as it is.

This is the latest reality show to audition for a place in my affections since the unfortunate demise of Ice Road Truckers (11 series: 2007-17) after the tragic death of series regular Darrell Ward. I followed that one up with the Canadian show Heavy Rescue: 401 (7 series: 2016-23) which plumbed not dissimilar territory: the adventures - and misadventures - of hardworking truckers in North America's frozen wastes.

Heavy Rescue: 401 (2016-23)

Alas, much though I'm enjoying Sin City Tow, I'm not sure that it will ever reach a second series, given the largely negative commentary it's been getting online - mainly from disgruntled car-owners who've had their vehicles towed, I suspect. Still, 85% of viewers are listed as having "enjoyed" it on Google, so there's some hope left.

I guess what I like most about it is what various of the other commentators dislike: the melodramatic heightening of fairly trivial events, and the narrative shaping that all this raw footage has undergone. The drivers themselves are not really a particularly likeable crew, but then, a dose of that good old Repo Man spirit is no doubt a sine qua non in their profession:

Repo Man (1984)

"See, an ordinary person spends his life avoiding tense situations. A repo man spends his life getting into tense situations."

Let's look at a few of those IMDb User Reviews, then:

... With reality TV shows, there is always the question of possible staging. I must say I do not believe Sin City Tow is guilty of this.

The reason being in the considered opinion of a person who has watched many and varied such series (me) is the following. The people in the confrontations are usually blanked out, their faces that is. With staged scenes, the "actors" are in on it, being paid for their performances, ergo no blanking out. So this is why I believe things are on the up and up.

... There is something to give pause. Are the towing companies seizing vehicles for the sake of making a buck rather than keeping parking in Vegas orderly and under control? Sometimes this does seem that this might be the case ...

The contention that the towing companies might simply be out to make a profit rather than nobly crusading to clean up the unruly streets of Las Vegas is a disturbing one. Next they'll be claiming that the casinos don't stay open simply to redistribute wealth to the starving masses, but rather to pile up profits for their corporate owners!

The point about the blanked-out faces is interesting. Given we see so many cameramen hovering around randomly in most of the scenes, I must confess it hadn''t occurred to me that anyone might have gone to the trouble of staging it that way. Hand-held camera blurring and shakiness is one thing, but surely any kind of fakery would come out looking a bit more polished?

The next commentator clearly doesn't agree, though (given the title of their review):

Dime a dozen fake reality TV show.

Have a friend that is a tow operator, so I caught some episodes of this while at their place.

Immediately obvious that this is another one of those "reality" shows which grew in popularity in the early-mid 2000's. And by reality I mean a show in which they stage a bunch of unbelievable scenarios for the tow truck drivers and employees, most of which consist of the drivers and agitators taking turns on upping each other's poor acting skills.

Other than the poor acting, there are also endless laughable confrontations and "Only in Vegas!" moments throughout. How laughable you ask? On their Halloween themed episode a driver stumbles upon an allegedly real Satanic ritual site, with a dead pig strung up and mutilated.

I won't claim there's 0 entertainment to be found in shows like this, but please do yourself a favor and don't recommend them to friends, unless you want them snickering behind your back because you believe that they're real.

That last paragraph sounds like a real cri-de-coeur to me. I fear that this writer has had the experience of recommending such a show to friends, only to hear them chortling behind his back. I feel his pain. I've heard more than a few such snorting noises myself from people who refuse to believe that a self-styled uppity intellectual such as myself could actually be serious about my passion for Ice Road Truckers (and its ilk).

Lisa Kelly (2011)

In fact, when we were playing one of those silly "who-would-you-most-like-to-have-lunch-with" games, it took me quite a while to explain why Ice Road trucker Lisa Kelly would be my ideal choice. There'd be so much to talk about!

Shawn (2024)

Please don't give these scammers any recognition. I can't speak for the practices of all the tow truck companies, but Ashley's Towing, run by Shawn Davis, is wreaking havoc on the local residents of Las Vegas. It might be entertaining when it's a drunk guy on the strip, but when they illegally tow private home owners' and apartment renters' vehicles from right in front of their homes, it's not funny at all. No one calls these in, the tow trucks prowl the subdivisions and complexes at night for easy prey. They then extort these innocent victims for hundreds of dollars to release their vehicles from the private impound lots. After contacting the police and attorneys, it becomes evident that the scam Ashley's Towing is running is minor enough to fly under the radar of both our criminal and civil justice systems. Even though if you add up all the victims and hundreds of dollars, it's grounds for a class action lawsuit.

Before you support this nonsensical show, think about the honest people who rely on their cars either for work or to get to work, walking out their front door to realize their vehicle is gone. Then imagine them realizing they might lose their job if they don't have their vehicle. Or imagine the folks who can't afford to pay the several-hundred-dollar impound fee but need their vehicle to support their family.

I got my car towed once. I had a date in the centre of town with the lady who would eventually become my wife, and I couldn't find a park anywhere. I eventually took a chance on some reserved spaces outside an apartment complex, hoping that I'd get back before the tenants did. Alas, I miscalculated. Much of the rest of the night was spent ringing the police, then a taxi, then paying an exorbitant fee at a tow yard. I gambled and lost, and was appropriately punished.

If you live in an apartment anywhere - not just Las Vegas - and fail to pay the prescribed fee for your parking, or to display the parking permit correctly, you'll probably get towed. It's hard to see this as grounds for a "class action lawsuit", as the commentator above threatens. Good luck with that, is all I can say.

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     All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts

- Shakespeare, As You Like It, II: vii.

Here are a few of the principal actors in the comedy:

Jeremy

I'd have to concede that there is something a little disconcerting about the glee with which drivers such as Jeremy (above) pounce on their victims. But then, he did spend most of his formative years pouring concrete for a living, so I imagine he feels that this new lifestyle of his is something of a rest cure. He's unabashedly out for the cash.

"Pineapple"

The rather unfortunately nicknamed "Pineapple", from American Samoa, is more of a dispassionate technician. He tows away big rigs which have outstayed their welcome at truck stops, which requires a great deal of skill and expertise. He's not interested in confrontation, but - given he towers above most of the drivers who take him on - he won't back away from it either.

NB: It was he who, in their Halloween themed episode "stumbled upon an allegedly real Satanic ritual site, with a dead pig strung up and mutilated" in the back of a truck, as one of the commentators above mentioned. I'd like to think it was staged by the producers for a gag, but given the things they find in some of the other cars they tow, it's hard to be sure.

Elmer

Elmer, by contrast, is rather more of a tragic figure. Things never quite go his way. He finds a rich crop of cars, and then is forced to abandon them by an order from home base. He's deputed to shepherd through cars at the weekly auction of abandoned vehicles - an unpaid gig - instead of being out on the streets collecting towing fees. The cars he does tow end up getting damaged, or have to be left behind for one reason or another. He attracts bad luck, despite all his desperate efforts to get ahead.

And yes, there's more than a hint of the commedia dell'arte about the exaggerated clashes of temperament and style in these various knights of the road - and when you throw in the excessive and disproportionate rage displayed by some of the punters coming to the yard to pick up their cars, you begin to verge on Jacobean Revenge Tragedy. "You have to get off sometime," as one woman mouths to the receptionist asking to see the ID and registration she's failed to bring with her. "I'll be waiting."

One thing all of them have in common is a terror of the cops. The mere threat of calling the police is enough to make the most belligerent hoodlum back off from threatening the driver who's just impounded their car. I gather that there's a policy in the US that every call-out of this kind must conclude with an arrest - it's just a question of who ends up in handcuffs. And then there's the added fillip of possibly getting shot if you show any signs of reaching for a weapon (or even looking as if that might be on your mind).

Elvis gets towed

The obvious reading of this programme, then, is as a barometer of American life at its most grotesque and self-parodic. And certainly, in times such as these, it's hard to avoid the feeling that things have deteriorated considerably since Hunter S. Thompson made his own journey to the heart of darkness of the American Dream in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972).

Ralph Steadman: Cover of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972)

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid ot the pain of being a man."

- Dr. Johnson

Thompson's existential despair has been replaced by a more banal wasteland of parking lots and cheap housing units: the darkness on the edge of town (in Springsteen's phrase) has been traded in for six-lane highways petering out in arid nowhere. These towies seem, at times, as futile and hapless as Wall-E robots, trying vainly to clean up an endlessly spreading (and self-renewing) stain on the landscape.

Can we - as a species - survive much more of this? I guess that remains to be seen. After all, as Ian Wedde put it in his great ecological anthem "Pathway to the Sea":

... we know, don’t we,
              citizen, that there’s nowhere
                          to defect to, & that
living in the
              universe doesn’t
                          leave you
any place to chuck
              stuff off
                          of. 

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The owners of the Tow Truck Company preparing a car for auction

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