Category: Media

Sections: Information | Reviews | Covers | Castilian, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Slovenian Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

• First editions:
  • Knopf, 1960, USA.
    • To identify: Used a standard practice ‘First Edition’ statement and published with a jacket priced at $3.95.
  • Michael Joseph, 1960, UK.
    • To identify: Used standard practice single statement (‘Published in Great Britain’ followed by the date, no later dates or printing statements) and published with a jacket priced at 15s net.

• Contains:
  • “Edward the Conqueror”
  • “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  • “Georgy Porgy”
  • “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Pig”
  • “Royal Jelly”
  • “The Champion of the World”
  • “The Landlady”
  • “The Way Up to Heaven”
  • “William and Mary”
• Related books:
  • Roald Dahl Collection
  • Selected Works of Roald Dahl
  • The Complete Tales of the Unexpected and Other Stories
• Audio Books:
  • Kiss Kiss read by Tamsin Greig, Juliet Stevenson, Adrian Scarborough, Stephanie Beacham, Derek Jacobi, Stephen Mangan

Reviews

• “Small Handful of the Superb” by Granville Hicks (The Saturday Review)

Covers

Castilian Covers

Dutch Covers

Estonian Covers – Kiisu-kiisu

Finnish Covers – Rakkaani, kyyhkyläiseni

Note: this book contains eight stories from Kiss Kiss and seven stories from Someone Like You.

French Covers – Kiss Kiss

German Covers – Küßchen Küßchen!

Portuguese Covers – Beijo

Russian Covers

Slovenian Covers – Poljubček

Sections: Information | Description | Covers

Information

• First editions:
  • Viking, 1996.
• Also published as:
  • The Umbrella Man and Other Stories (in the US)

• Contains:
  • “Katina”
  • “Man From the South”
  • “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  • “Neck”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Royal Jelly”
  • “Taste”
  • “The Butler”
  • “The Great Automatic Grammatizator”
  • “The Landlady”
  • “The Umbrella Man”
  • “The Way Up to Heaven”
  • “Vengeance is Mine, Inc.”

Description

This new selection of Roald Dahl’s short stories has been specially chosen as an introduction for teenagers into the adult writing of one of the world’s greatest storytellers. Subtle and bizarre, ironic and amusing, macabre and often grotesque, in every sense these tales provide a superb first step into the unexpected world of Roald Dahl.

Covers

Sections: Information | Description

Information

• First editions:
  • Chivers, 1981.
• Also published as:
  • More Tales of the Unexpected (original title)

• Contains:
  • “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  • “Georgy Porgy”
  • “Mr. Botibol”
  • “Poison”
  • “The Butler”
  • “The Hitchhiker”
  • “The Sound Machine”
  • “The Umbrella Man”
  • “Vengeance is Mine, Inc.”

Description

Roald Dahl can stand on your head, twist you in knots, tie up your hands and leave you gasping for more. In this, his latest selection of short stories the surprises are as wicked and witty as ever. Taken from Someone Like You, Kiss Kiss and The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, plus four brand new stories, they lure you into a world as full of unease, coincidence and black humour as you could wish. This title covers stories including: “Poison”; “The Sound Machine”; “Georgy Porgy”; “Genesis and Catastrophe”; “The Hitch-Hiker”; “The Umbrella Man”; “Mr Botibol”; “Vengeance is Mine Inc.”; and, “The Butler”.

Sections: Information | Description | Covers

Information

• First editions:
  • Penguin Books, 1986, Great Britain.

• Contains:
  • “Dip in the Pool”
  • “Edward the Conqueror”
  • “Galloping Foxley”
  • “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  • “Georgy Porgy”
  • “Lamb to the Slaughter”
  • “Man From the South”
  • “Mr. Botibol”
  • “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  • “My Lady Love, My Dove”
  • “Neck”
  • “Nunc Dimittis”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Poison”
  • “Royal Jelly”
  • “Skin”
  • “Taste”
  • “The Butler”
  • “The Hitchhiker”
  • “The Landlady”
  • “The Sound Machine”
  • “The Umbrella Man”
  • “The Way Up to Heaven”
  • “Vengeance is Mine, Inc.”
  • “William and Mary”

Description

Take a pinch of unease. Stir it into a large dollop of the macabre, add a generous helping of dark and stylish wit, garnish with the bizarre and what do you have? Roald Dahl at his brilliant, hypnotizing best, cooking up some of the most unusual stories ever told. Here in one volume are Tales of the Unexpected and More Tales of the Unexpected, making this a superb compendium of vengeance, surprise and dark delight.

Covers

Sections: Information | Reviews | Covers | Dutch, Indian, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Ukrainian Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

• First editions:
  • Michael Joseph, 1991, UK.
  • To identify: Standard practice statement (‘Published in Great Britain’ followed by the date, no later dates or printing statements) above listing of previous publication copyright credits with jacket priced at £15.99

• Contains:
  • “A Piece of Cake”
  • “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life”
  • “An African Story”
  • “B***h”
  • “Beware of the Dog”
  • “Death of an Old Old Man”
  • “Dip in the Pool”
  • “Edward the Conqueror”
  • “Galloping Foxley”
  • “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  • “Georgy Porgy”
  • “Katina”
  • “Lamb to the Slaughter”
  • “Madame Rosette”
  • “Man From the South”
  • “Mr. Botibol”
  • “Mr. Feasey”
  • “Mr. Hoddy”
  • “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  • “My Lady Love, My Dove”
  • “Neck”
  • “Nunc Dimittis”
  • “Only This”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Pig”
  • “Poison”
  • “Royal Jelly”
  • “Rummins”
  • “Skin”
  • “Someone Like You”
  • “Taste”
  • “The Bookseller”
  • “The Butler”
  • “The Champion of the World”
  • “The Great Automatic Grammatizator”
  • “The Great Switcheroo”
  • “The Hitchhiker”
  • “The Landlady”
  • “The Last Act”
  • “The Ratcatcher”
  • “The Soldier”
  • “The Sound Machine”
  • “The Surgeon”
  • “The Umbrella Man”
  • “The Visitor”
  • “The Way Up to Heaven”
  • “The Wish”
  • “They Shall Not Grow Old”
  • “Vengeance is Mine, Inc.”
  • “William and Mary”
  • “Yesterday was Beautiful”

Reviews

• “The Art of Vengeance” by Joyce Carol Oates (The New York Review of Books)
• “Getting Even” by Stephen Amidon (The Nation)
• “Mister Macabre” by Edwin M. Yoder (The Weekly Standard)

Covers

Dutch Covers – Alle verhalen

Hungarian Covers – Összes meghökkentő meséje

Indian Covers

Italian Covers – Tutti i racconti

Russian Covers – Дорога в рай

Slovenian Covers – Zbrane kratke zgodbe

Spanish Covers – Cuentos completos

Ukrainian Covers – КОНЯКА ФОКСЛІ та інші дорослі оповідання

Sections: Information | Description | Reviews | Covers | Korean, Norwegian, and Spanish Covers

Information

• First editions:
  • Vintage Books, 1978, USA.
  • Michael Joseph, 1983, Great Britain.

• Contains:
  • “Dip in the Pool”
  • “Edward the Conqueror”
  • “Galloping Foxley”
  • “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  • “Georgy Porgy”
  • “Lamb to the Slaughter”
  • “Madame Rosette”
  • “Man From the South”
  • “Mr. Feasey”
  • “Mr. Hoddy”
  • “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Pig”
  • “Royal Jelly”
  • “Rummins”
  • “Skin”
  • “Taste”
  • “The Bookseller”
  • “The Boy Who Talked with Animals”
  • “The Champion of the World”
  • “The Great Switcheroo”
  • “The Hitchhiker”
  • “The Landlady”
  • “The Ratcatcher”
  • “The Sound Machine”
  • “The Visitor”
  • “The Way Up to Heaven”
  • “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”
  • “William and Mary”
• Audio Books:
  • Lust read by Derek Jacobi, Gillian Anderson, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Mark Heap, and Richard E Grant

Description

This collection brings together Dahl’s finest work, illustrating his genius for the horrific and grotesque which is unparalleled.

“Dahl has the mastery of plot and characters possessed by great writers of the past, along with a wildness and wryness of his own. One of his trademarks is writing beautifully about the ugly, even the horrible.”–Los Angeles Times

“An ingenious imagination, a fascination with odd and ordinary detail, and a lust for its thorough exploitation are the…strengths of Dahl’s storytelling.”–New York Times Book Review

Reviews

• Review by Godly Gadfly

Covers

Korean Covers

Norwegian Covers – Roald Dahls beste historier

Spanish Covers

Sections: Information | Description | Reviews | Covers | Czech, German, and Russian Covers

Information

Information on identifying editions is from Richard Walker’s “Roald Dahl – A Guide to Collecting His First Editions”.

• First editions:
  • Michael Joseph, 1989, Great Britain.
    • Illustrated by: John Lawrence
    • To identify: Standard practice statement (‘Published in Great Britain’ followed by the date, no later dates or printing statements), with jacket priced £11.95 & $22.95
  • Alfred Knopf, 1989, USA.
    • To identify: First Edition statement, with jacket priced $18.95

• Contains:
  • “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life”
  • “Mr. Feasey”
  • “Mr. Hoddy”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Rummins”
  • “The Champion of the World”
  • “The Ratcatcher”
• Related books:
  • Roald Dahl Collection

Description

Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life is a collection of seven hilariously creepy Roald Dahl stories published in various magazines and collections in the ’40s and ’50s, and gathered here for the first time. With the classic Dahl mixture of charm and charmingly perverse, these stories remind us that the mystery of life isn’t always as sweet as it seems.

Reviews

• “Dahl looks at mysteries of rural life” (Times)

Covers

Czech Covers – To sladké tajemství života a jiné povídky

German Covers – Der krumme Hund

Russian Covers – Ах, эта сладкая загадка жизни!

Sections: Information | Covers

Information

• First editions:
  • Peerage Books, 1991, UK.

• Contains:
  • “A Piece of Cake”
  • “An African Story”
  • “B***h”
  • “Beware of the Dog”
  • “Death of an Old Old Man”
  • “Dip in the Pool”
  • “Edward the Conqueror”
  • “Galloping Foxley”
  • “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  • “Georgy Porgy”
  • “Katina”
  • “Lamb to the Slaughter”
  • “Madame Rosette”
  • “Man From the South”
  • “Mr. Feasey”
  • “Mr. Hoddy”
  • “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  • “My Lady Love, My Dove”
  • “Neck”
  • “Nunc Dimittis”
  • “Only This”
  • “Parson’s Pleasure”
  • “Pig”
  • “Poison”
  • “Royal Jelly”
  • “Rummins”
  • “Skin”
  • “Someone Like You”
  • “Taste”
  • “The Champion of the World”
  • “The Great Automatic Grammatizator”
  • “The Great Switcheroo”
  • “The Landlady”
  • “The Last Act”
  • “The Ratcatcher”
  • “The Soldier”
  • “The Sound Machine”
  • “The Visitor”
  • “The Way Up to Heaven”
  • “The Wish”
  • “They Shall Not Grow Old”
  • “William and Mary”
  • “Yesterday was Beautiful”
  • My Uncle Oswald

Covers