Product details
Biographical note
ANN ALSTON and CATHERINE BUTLER are both Senior Lecturers in English at the University of the West of England, UK.'The Roald Dahl casebook is an interesting, thought-provoking, and, in many ways, long-overdue book' - Libri & Liberi 'Well worth reading and full of valuable insights that will make this volume of use to students and scholars alike.' - Michele Stepto, Yale University, USA 'An authoritative collection of essays which together offer a wide range of critical approaches to a substantial proportion of Dahl's work.' - Elizabeth Thiel, Roehampton University, UK
Roald Dahl is one of the world's best-loved authors. More than twenty years after his death, his books are still highly popular with children and have inspired numerous feature films – yet he remains a controversial figure.
This volume, the first collection of academic essays ever to be devoted to Dahl's work, brings together a team of well-known scholars of children's literature to explore the man, his books for children, and his complex attitudes towards various key subjects. Including essays on education, crime, Dahl's humour, his long-term collaboration with the artist Quentin Blake, and film adaptations, this fascinating collection offers a unique insight into the writer and his world.
Series Editor's Preface
Notes on Contributors
Introduction; C.Butler
Fairy Tale and Anti-Fairy Tale: Roald Dahl and the Telling Power of Stories; D.Thacker
Discomfort and Delight: The Role of Humour in Roald Dahl's Works for Children; J.E.Stallcup
'Don't gobblefunk around with words': Roald Dahl and Language; D.Rudd
'The problem of school': Roald Dahl and Education; P.Pinsent
The Unlikely Family Romance in Roald Dahl's Children's Fiction; A.Alston
'When one is with her it is impossible to be bored': An Examination of Roald Dahl's Contribution to a Feminist Project in Children's Literature; B.Pennell
An Unsuitable Read for a Child? Reconsidering Crime and Violence in Roald Dahl's Fiction for Children; H.Worthington
All Grown Up: Filmic Interpretations of Roald Dahl's Novels; J.Pulliam
Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake; C.Scott
Roald Dahl and the Commodification of Fantasy; P.Hunt
Further Reading
Index.