Roald Dahl’s granddaughter to continue family tradition

Roald Dahl’s granddaughter has revealed she is carrying on the family tradition by writing a book for young people. 27-year-old Chloe Dahl was born in Florida in Sept 1990 to screenwriter Lucy Dahl, just a few weeks before her famous grandfather’s death. 

“I am in the process of writing my first book, it’s not a children’s book like his, it’s a little older aimed more at teenagers, but I have got some big shoes to fill. I feel very lucky that I have him as inspiration,” she said.

Although she would not be drawn on exactly what the book was about, she said the subject matter was more adult than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“There’s some things that are a little more than PG, it’s not just chocolate....I hope to be able to be a story-teller, like him, instead of an author,” she said.

Dahl was speaking as she helped promote a new book called My Golden Ticket, made in collaboration with her grandfather’s estate and based on his world of Willy Wonka.

Despite his much-publicised aversion to the Gene Wilder movie, she insisted the late Welsh-born author and one-time fighter pilot “would love” the new story, which is personalised with each child’s name by London-based independent publishers Wonderbly at 12 printing sites around the world.

The child’s name is scrolled onto oompa loompa rhymes and woven into character plots throughout the book.

“Anyone who wants to buy this book can go to our Wonderbly website, put in the name of a child, hit a button and as if by magic their very own book will be created and sent to them wherever in the world they live,” David Cadji-Newby, the founder and creative director of Wonderbly said.

The new book has been released to coincide with Roald Dahl Day on Wednesday (Sept 13).

-Reuters 
-Agencies