Matilda by Roald Dahl - 1988

VERY GOOD condition — DUST JACKET: Very good condition. Minor wear to top and bottom edges of spine, panels, folds and flaps. BOARDS: Very good condition. No issues. BOOK: Very good condition. Ink markings top of FFEP; former bookplate ghosting/residue to same. Please inspect photos closely for condition details.

Here on offer is a very nice copy of Roald Dahl's award-winning children's novel, Matilda, the basis for the 1996 feature film of the same name, directed by Danny DeVito. This copy is a 1st American trade edition, 1st printing of the work published by Viking Kestrel in 1988 and illustrated by Quentin Blake. The dust jacket is protected from further wear by a Mylar sleeve.

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" 'A true genius . . . Roald Dahl is my hero' - David Walliams

'So Matilda's strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.'

Matilda is the world's most famous bookworm, no thanks to her ghastly parents. Her father thinks she's a little scab. Her mother spends all afternoon playing bingo. And her headmistress, Miss Trunchbull? She's the worst of all. She's a big bully, who thinks all her pupils are rotten and locks them in the dreaded Chokey.

Despite these beastly grownups trying to push her down, Matilda is an extraordinary girl with a magical mind. And she's had enough.

So all the terrible adults had better watch out, because she's going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"

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"Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British popular author of children's literature and short stories, a poet, and wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Dahl has been called 'one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century'.

Dahl was born in Wales to affluent Norwegian immigrant parents, and spent most of his life in England. He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He became a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and for adults, and he became one of the world's best-selling authors. His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of 'The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945'. In 2021, Forbes ranked him the top-earning dead celebrity.

Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters. His children's books champion the kindhearted and feature an underlying warm sentiment. His works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, George's Marvellous Medicine and Danny, the Champion of the World. His works for older audiences include the short story collections Tales of the Unexpected and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More."

The above text was taken from, respectively, Penguin Random House publishers (via Google Books) and Wikipedia.