Author: Kris

I’ve finally managed to track down a scan of “Willy Wonka’s Hottest Item,” an early draft chapter that was later cut from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s really cool to read, both for the differences from the published version (there were no Oompa-Loompas yet!) and for the clear similarities to storylines that were later developed. Go here to have a look!

Has anyone heard of a set of Roald Dahl audio books from the Rainbow Theatre Company? I received the following request from a site visitor named Blake:

i am looking for a specific series of Roald Dahl audiobooks. They were produced in 1983 i believe by the Rainbow Theatre company and included dramatized versions of Fantastic Mr Fox, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I have found the latter on Youtube. The two others were on Youtube too several years ago, but have since been taken down. I would like to procure my own copies of each but I have hit a brick wall with my own internet research. I was curious whether you or anyone in your fan community had them, or maybe even some advice on where I could go looking

any help would be very much appreciated

If you have any information on these, please leave a comment or contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Blake!

Edited in June 2021:

Guess what? I’ve just found an Ebay auction with four of these audiobooks! I’ve emailed Blake to let him know and added info to the Audio Books page.

This Scratch game was created by me as part of the HarvardX: CS50 Introduction to Computer Science course in January 2018. It’s based on James and the Giant Peach. You’ll need Flash enabled in your browser to play it. (You can also find the game here.)

Instructions: The giant peach is floating in the ocean but our heroes are surrounded by ravenous sharks. James has convinced Earthworm to act as bait for the many seagulls circling overhead, but his courage won’t last long! As each one swoops, James must lasso it with spider’s web before it pecks poor Earthworm. How many seagulls can you catch? James will tie each one to the peach stem as you go…

How was your Christmas? I spent some time over the break working on the website. The timeline has changed from static text pages to a new, dynamic version that includes images. You can filter it by category as well. I’ve also added over 20 audio books to the site, including several in Czech, Dutch, French, and German.

On November 21, 2017, Bonhams auction house in New York City will hold an auction of movie memorabilia including many pieces from the estate of Harper Goff. Several pieces of concept artwork for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are up for sale. (Thanks to Justin Humphreys for letting us know!)

If you want to see more of the artwork, check out the auction or our archive here.

Did you notice there’s a brand new coat of paint here at RoaldDahlFans.com? The brilliant illustrator Matt Hinrichs created custom illustrations for Dahl’s stories that have formed the basis of the new look. I hope you like it!

Here’s a closer look at Matt’s artwork. Isn’t it fabulous?

Roald’s garden shed:

The man himself:

Sophie and the BFG:

Wonka’s chocolate factory:

The Grand High Witch:

Matilda:

Fabulous Mr. Fox:

James in the peach:

 

Thanks to Trove, I was able to track down another long-lost Dahl essay. This one was written by Roald Dahl himself and it’s called “My Wife, Patricia Neal.” It was published in the September 22, 1965 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. (I believe it’s the same essay that was published as “Patricia Neal’s Struggle to Live” from the September 1965 issue of Ladies Home Journal.)

I’ve added some scans from the magazine as well as an excerpt featuring Dahl’s description of Neal’s jumbled speech during her recovery, which he later used as inspiration for the BFG’s speech. (I found it pretty shocking that they gave cigarettes and alcohol to a pregnant woman recovering from a brain injury!)