Roald Dahl
Why does the Beano want to cancel itself?
The drive for inclusivity in children’s publishing
The rewriting of Roald Dahl is an act of cultural vandalism
The vandals have come for Roald Dahl. His books for children are to be cleansed of their ‘offensive’ content. Sensitivity…
Before Quentin Blake, there was Nancy Ekholm Burkert – Dahl’s forgotten illustrator
Bunnies were out. Beatrix Potter had the monopoly on rabbits, kittens, ducks and Mrs Tittlemouses. ‘I knew I had to…
If I were a cultural Marxist, I might be thinking about giving up
In his Memoirs, Kingsley Amis includes a story about meeting Roald Dahl at a party in the 1970s. Dahl advises…
Measure for Measure at the Barbican reviewed: a charity show for homesick non-doms
The smash hit Matilda, based on a Roald Dahl story, has spawned a copycat effort, The Twits. Charm, sweetness and…
BBC1’s Esio Trot: like Fawlty Towers played at quarter speed
As a New Year’s Day treat for all the family, Esio Trot (BBC1) seemed to be taking no chances. It…
Behind (almost) every great writer is a great garden
It is a truism that writers of all kinds often find inspiration and solace in their gardens, as well as…
The Bloomsbury painters bore me
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) claimed that nothing has really happened until it has been recorded, so this new exhibition at the…
Alex Jennings interview: the new Willy Wonka on Roald Dahl’s ‘child killer’
Alex Jennings, the new Willy Wonka, tells Lloyd Evans why Dahl’s ‘misanthropic world’ is fascinating to inhabit
A Roald Dahl tea? It reminds me more of Jimmy Savile
One Aldwych, an Edwardian grand hotel near Waterloo Bridge, is serving a Jimmy Savile tribute tea. It is not explicitly…
