Jezebel: Roald Dahl

The Cadbury Creme Egg's Bad Romance

Sadie Stein — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:55:00 EDT

'Tis the season for the gooey, sickeningly sweet treat — which is perhaps the most polarizing candy ever known. Somehow it manages to be both utterly disgusting and utterly irresistible. Yes, it's complicated. More »

Three Matildas Share Secrets Outside Roald Dahl's Home

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:15:00 EDT

[Great Missenden, England, August 17. Josie Griffiths Adrianna Bertola and Kerry Ingram pose for pictures at the home of the late author Roald Dahl.]

The Secret Life Of Roald Dahl

Hortense Smith — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:50:00 EDT

According to a new authorized biography, Roald Dahl was quite the dashing womanizer in his day, seducing socialites while working as a spy for the British government. [Telegraph] More »

Critics Are Wild About Fantastic Mr. Fox

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST

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Critics have been increasingly disenchanted with Wes Anderson's films, but in Fantastic Mr. Fox, painstakingly slow stop-motion animation allowed him to create his signature storybook feel, while also allowing George Clooney and Meryl Streep to turn in lively performances. More »

Happy Roald Dahl Day!

Hortense Smith — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Today is Roald Dahl Day! So bake yourself a chocolate cake and eat it, Bruce Bogtrotter style, just to stick it to the Trunchbulls of the world. Or just stop by the official site for all things Dahl. Splendiferous! [RoaldDahlDay] More »

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More: Bully for You

lizzieskurnick — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EDT

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The 1945 Roald Dahl short-story classic involving but not limited to a turtle, a yogi, and a terrible swan song. More »

The Wonderful Story Of Roald Dahl...

Sadie Stein — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EDT

A cache of hundreds of Roald Dahl's letters have come to light - but from where? Says the author's biographer, "The guy who owns the letters is old and very keen to stay out of the limelight." Mystery! [Telegraph] More »

Roald And The Tiny Hut

Sadie Stein — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:20:00 EST

Check out this awesome tour of Roald Dahl's "writing hut" in Buckinghamshire. It's where he wrote all his classic children's books, and was, one assumes, misanthropic. [via BoingBoing] More »

If you've ever wanted to taste a Scrumdiddlyumptious...

Hortense Smith — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:15:00 EST

If you've ever wanted to taste a Scrumdiddlyumptious bar, ever wanted to glue your father's hat to his head, ever cowered in fear of The Trunchbull, or dreamed of escape via giant peach, you might want to read this interview in this Sunday's Guardian, wherein Felicity Dahl, widow of beloved children's author Roald Dahl, opens up about her late husband and their life together. Felicity notes how tickled Dahl was with his fans' enthusiasm for his stories: "Children were his friends, that's what kept him going. The fact that they loved his stories and would then go on to read Biggles and everything else - that, to him, was a miracle. He said, "I feel a bit like a pop star."' Dahl agreed to the interview in order to generate publicity for the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize, an award that will be given to "the year's most humorous children's book" this Thursday. [The Guardian] More »

Harriet The Spy: Iconoclastic, American Lezebel Icon

Jessica G. — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST

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NPR's "Morning Edition" ran a segment this morning on what a groundbreaking work of young adult fiction Harriet the Spy was when it debuted in 1964. According to NPR correspondent Neva Grant, heroine Harriet M. Welsch was considered controversial because "Harriet saw too much, said too much. She even had to see a psychiatrist." Some schools banned the book, explains Grant, and some critics hated it, but readers, especially those who felt that they were outside the mainstream, appreciated that Harriet loved herself, disheveled hair and all. (You can get some more Harriet love in last Friday's Fine Lines column). Readers like Kathleen Horning, now a librarian in Wisconsin, liked the fact that Harriet was a tomboy who, unlike many 50s and 60s heroines, didn't have to go through a girlified redemption by the end of the book. In fact, as Grant reports, like Harriet, Horning was a "tomboy who didn't want to reform." Later on, Horning realized she was a lesbian. More »