James and the Giant Peach de Roald Dahl - 1961

VERY GOOD condition — DUST JACKET: Minor wear & tear to top and bottom edges of spine, panels, folds and flaps. Very small closed tears to top and bottom of spine, left bottom edge of front panel and closed tear to bottom edge, back panel. Faint ink markings to back panel. Price clipped. BOARDS: Very good condition. No issues. BOOK: Very good condition. Abrasion/tear to front paste-down. Please inspect photos closely for condition details.

Here on offer is an exceptionally nice copy of Roald Dahl's popular children's novel, James and the Giant Peach, the basis for the 1996 film of the same name and a twentieth-century classic. This copy is a 1st trade edition, 2nd state (4 line colophon) published by Alfred Knopf in 1961. The 2nd state dust jacket (ISBN numbers on back panel) is protected from further wear by a Mylar sleeve.

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"From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG!

Roald Dahl was a champion of the underdog and all things little—in this case, an orphaned boy oppressed by two nasty, self-centered aunts. How James escapes his miserable life with the horrible aunts and becomes a hero is a Dahlicious fantasy of the highest order. You will never forget resourceful little James and his new family of magically overgrown insects—a ladybug, a spider, a grasshopper, a glowworm, a silkworm, and the chronic complainer, a centipede with a hundred gorgeous shoes. Their adventures aboard a luscious peach as large as a house take them across the Atlantic Ocean, through waters infested with peach-eating sharks and skies inhabited by malevolent Cloudmen, to a ticker-tape parade in New York City.

This happily ever after contemporary fairy tale is a twentieth-century classic that every child deserves to know. And Lane Smith's endearingly funny illustrations are a perfect match for the text.

'All the gruesome imagery of old-fashioned fairy tales and a good measure of their breathtaking delight."'—Kirkus Reviews

'A stunning book, to be cherished for its story, a superb fantasy.' —The Chicago Tribune

'The most original fantasy that has been published in a long time...[it] may well become a classic.' —San Francisco Chronicle"

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Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a 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 publishing (via Google Books) and Wikipedia.