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"Neck" is a short story by Roald Dahl. It first appeared in his 1953 collection Someone Like You, which consists of 18 short stories.
Upon inheriting his father's newspaper and magazine empire, Sir Basil Turton suddenly finds himself the most sought-after bachelor in London society. Much to everyone's surprise, he marries a virtually unknown Continental European named Natalia. Sir Basil being little interested in anything other than his art collection, the new Lady Turton assumes control of the Turton Press, becoming in the process a major player in the political arena.
Six years after the marriage, the narrator of the story, a society columnist, finds himself seated next to the imperious Lady Turton at a dinner party. When she at long last takes notice of him, she bombards him with a series of personal questions, during the course of which he mentions his love of art. Lady Turton uninterestedly invites him to see Sir Basil's collection at their house in the country and the narrator eagerly accepts.
Arriving at the estate the following Saturday, the narrator is impressed by the extravagant topiary with large trees trimmed into a variety of shapes, including a complete chess set, and the many sculptures and statues on the grounds. Over the course of the evening, the narrator perceives Major Haddock, another guest for the weekend, is infatuated with Lady Turton, who does not rebuff his advances. It is also obvious to the narrator that the butler, Jelks, holds her ladyship in contempt for the cruel way she treats Sir Basil; Jelks has offered, in return for a third of the narrator's card winnings over the weekend, to give him hints on Lady Turton's strategies at the card table.
The next day, the gracious Sir Basil takes the narrator on a tour around the vast estate. Stopping to rest, the two men sit on a bench overlooking the garden and begin chatting, at which time the narrator notices a woman wandering in the garden. She is soon joined by a man who is carrying in his hand a small camera. The two figures approach a piece of sculpture (a wooden piece by Henry Moore) and appear to be laughing at it. The man begins to take pictures while the woman strikes ludicrous poses beside the piece, at one point sticking her head through one of its holes. The man takes more pictures and, from the narrator's perspective, leans down and kisses the woman, her laughter filling the air.
It soon becomes apparent, however, that the woman cannot free her head from the sculpture, and, seeing the man is unable to release her, Sir Basil and the narrator make their way down to the garden; they find the two figures are Lady Turton and Major Haddock. As her ladyship angrily berates her husband, Sir Basil tells Jelks to fetch a saw so he can cut her out of the piece. When the butler returns with a saw in one hand and an axe in the other and offers the implements to his employer, the narrator notices the hand holding the axe is extended out further toward Sir Basil, as though Jelks is trying to coax him into using it instead of the saw. Sir Basil takes the axe. The narrator closes his eyes in anticipation of what is about to befall the terrified Lady Turton when he hears Sir Basil say, "Look here, Jelks. What on earth are you thinking about? This thing's much too dangerous. Give me the saw." The narrator looks at Lady Turton, who is pale-faced and gurgling incoherently with fear, and then at Sir Basil, who for the first time has the traces of a smile in his eyes.
Roald Dahl 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. He has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".
The BFG is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel Danny, the Champion of the World. The book is dedicated to Dahl's oldest daughter, Olivia, who had died of measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1962.
Matilda is a 1988 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published by Jonathan Cape. The story features Matilda Wormwood, a precocious child with an uncaring mother and father, and her time in school run by the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull.
The Witches is a 1983 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. A dark fantasy, the story is set partly in Norway and partly in England, and features the experiences of a young English boy and his Norwegian grandmother in a world where child-hating societies of witches secretly exist in every country. The witches are ruled by the vicious and powerful Grand High Witch, who arrives in England to organise her plan to turn all of the children there into mice.
Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984) is an autobiography written by British writer Roald Dahl. This book describes his life from early childhood until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to writing children's books as a career. It concludes with his first job, working for Royal Dutch Shell. His life story continues in the book Going Solo.
James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael Simeon, Emma Chichester Clark, Lane Smith and Quentin Blake. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1996 which was directed by Henry Selick, and a musical in 2010.
The Twits is a 1980 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was first published by Jonathan Cape. The story features The Twits, a spiteful, idle, unkempt couple who continuously play nasty practical jokes on each other to amuse themselves, and exercise their devious wickedness on their pet monkeys.
Esio Trot is a 1990 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The title is an anadrome of "tortoise". It was the last of Dahl's books to be published in his lifetime; he died just two months later.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More is a 1977 short story collection by British author Roald Dahl. The seven stories are generally regarded as being aimed at a slightly older audience than many of Dahl's other children's novels.
The Mysterious Mr Quin is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 14 April 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
Parker Pyne Investigates is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins and Sons in November 1934. Along with The Listerdale Mystery, this collection did not appear under the usual imprint of the Collins Crime Club but instead appeared as part of the Collins Mystery series. It appeared in the US later in the same year published by Dodd, Mead and Company under the title Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
"The Landlady" is a short horror story by Roald Dahl. It initially appeared in The New Yorker, as did other short stories that would later be reprinted in the 1960 anthology, Kiss Kiss.
Dirty Beasts is a 1983 collection of Roald Dahl poems about unsuspecting animals. Intended to be a follow-up to Revolting Rhymes, the original Jonathan Cape edition was illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett. In 1984, a revised edition was published with illustrations by Quentin Blake.
"Edward the Conqueror" is a short story written by Roald Dahl and first published in the 31 October 1953 issue of The New Yorker.
Revolting Rhymes is a 1982 poetry collection by British author Roald Dahl. Originally published under the title Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, it is a parody of traditional folk tales in verse, where Dahl gives a re-interpretation of six well-known fairy tales, featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after finishes.
The Great Automatic Grammatizator is a collection of thirteen short stories written by British author Roald Dahl. The stories were selected for teenagers from Dahl's adult works. All the stories included were published elsewhere originally; their sources are noted below. The stories, with the exception of the war story "Katina", possess a deadpan, ironic, bizarre, or even macabre sense of humor. They generally end with unexpected plot twists.
The Night Digger is a 1971 British thriller film based on the novel Nest in a Fallen Tree by Joy Cowley about two women who are visited by a suspicious handy man. It was adapted by Roald Dahl and starred his then wife Patricia Neal.
"Man from the South" is a short story by Roald Dahl originally published as "Collector's Item" in Collier's in September 1948. It has been adapted several times for television and film, including a 1960 version that aired as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and starred Steve McQueen, Neile Adams, and Peter Lorre.
Roald Dahl's Esio Trot, or simply Esio Trot, is a British comedy drama television film directed by Dearbhla Walsh and written by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, based on the 1990 novel, Esio Trot, by Roald Dahl. In the film, a retired bachelor falls in love with his neighbour, a widow who keeps a tortoise as a companion after the death of her husband.
Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales is a collection of interconnected short stories by Yōko Ogawa. It was published in Japan in 1998, and in the United States by Picador in 2013. Stephen Snyder translated the book into English.
