In celebration of “James and the Giant Peach’s’ 50th anniversary, Lucy Dahl, daughter of author Roald Dahl, answered a few questions for Cracking the Cover about her father. Below is a complete transcript.
What do you think of the success of “James and the Giant Peach?”
I think that the success of “James and the Giant Peach” is like the peach itself, it just keeps growing!
What about it, and your father’s work, appeals to young readers and their parents?
I think that my father’s stories appeal to young readers because they characters are interesting and perfectly exaggerated for a kid to be able to identify with and find funny. I think the parents like my father’s work because their kids love reading and all parents love reading their kids reading books.
A lot of your father’s stories where born out bedtime stories your father told you and your siblings. Do you remember them? Was “James and the Giant Peach” one of them?
“James and the Giant Peach” was written about five years before I was born, however, “The BFG” was my favorite bedtime story, which later became a book.
Did your dad talk to you a lot about the books he was writing? Did he read his stories to you?
Yes, my father did talk about the books he was writing. He often asked our opinion about an idea, if we liked it or not.
Did your father’s characters come from people in your life?
I would say that all of his characters derive from some person that was in either his life as a child or in our life some way.
Has your view of your father’s writing changed as you’ve grown up?
I have always loved it.
Did he have a routine?
Yes. He wrote every day in his writing hut. From 10 a.m. to noon and then again from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
You are a screenwriter. As a child did you want to follow in dad’s footsteps?
As a child I had no idea what I wanted to be. I didn’t even begin to write until I was in my mid-30s.
Do you have a favorite book of your father’s?
“The BFG” is my favorite book.
Besides your father’s tales, name a book that resonated with you as a child. Why?
I loved the Black Stallion series. I loved ponies, I had my own pony and I loved everything to do with horses and ponies and stories about them.