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When Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was
first published in the United States 50 years ago this month, it sold
10,000 copies in just one week.
The New York Times called the book "fertile in invention," "rich in humor," and "acutely observant." But more importantly, kids liked it. A classic was born.
The 1971 film version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" brought Dahl's story to an even wider audience. Dahl's zany cast of characters were delivered to the big screen, introducing a new generation to a whole crew of poorly behaved children like Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, and Violet Bureaugard. Their unfortunate exploits take on a macabre quality on the big screen.
Dahl's stories are filled with dark humor, which is what made these children's books so unusual.
So it may come to a surprise to readers that early drafts of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" were even stranger—and had an even more extensive list of grubby youngsters. There was Miranda Grope, Elvira Erstwhile, Clarence Crump, Bertie Upside, and more.
Lucy Mangan takes a look back at Dahl's never-before-published chapters and his early drafts in her new book "Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory," commissioned for the book's 50th anniversary.
The New York Times called the book "fertile in invention," "rich in humor," and "acutely observant." But more importantly, kids liked it. A classic was born.
The 1971 film version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" brought Dahl's story to an even wider audience. Dahl's zany cast of characters were delivered to the big screen, introducing a new generation to a whole crew of poorly behaved children like Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, and Violet Bureaugard. Their unfortunate exploits take on a macabre quality on the big screen.
Dahl's stories are filled with dark humor, which is what made these children's books so unusual.
So it may come to a surprise to readers that early drafts of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" were even stranger—and had an even more extensive list of grubby youngsters. There was Miranda Grope, Elvira Erstwhile, Clarence Crump, Bertie Upside, and more.
Lucy Mangan takes a look back at Dahl's never-before-published chapters and his early drafts in her new book "Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory," commissioned for the book's 50th anniversary.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at 50 The Guardian
- 12:00 AM, SEPTEMBER 11 2014 How the Lost Chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Was Discovered Vanity Fair
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