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    The Umbrella Man and Other Stories

    Author Roald Dahl
    Ebook
    Penguin Young Readers | Viking Books for Young Readers
    On sale Jun 20, 2013 | 275 Pages | 9781101636282
    Grade 7 & Up
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    By turns macabre, hilarious, and grotesque, these stories are filled with unexpected delights and the always expected Dahl brilliance.

    What could be wrong with a sweet landlady who offers the cheapest, cleanest, coziest quarters in town? Ask any of her tenants—if you can dig one up. What does a husband’s unceasing devotion to his frail child send his wife into paroxysms of horror? How much will people pay for vengeance?

    These thirteen tales grab you from the start, hold you fast—and then throw all your expectations out the window with surprise-twist endings that are immensely satisfying. Before Roald Dahl became a master of stories for children, he was a master of adult short stories. His several popular anthologies showcase his skills and an ingenious sleight-of-hand artists. Wendy Cooling specially selected the stories in this collection as an introduction for teenagers to the adult writing of one of the world’s greatest storytellers.
    Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, so holidays were spent in Norway. As he explains in Boy, he turned down the idea of university in favor of a job that would take him to "a wonderful faraway place." In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa. When World War II began in 1939, he became a fighter pilot and in 1942 was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he started to write short stories. His first major success as a writer for children was in 1964. Thereafter his children's books brought him increasing popularity, and when he died, children mourned the world over, particularly in Britain where he had lived for many years. View titles by Roald Dahl

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    By turns macabre, hilarious, and grotesque, these stories are filled with unexpected delights and the always expected Dahl brilliance.

    What could be wrong with a sweet landlady who offers the cheapest, cleanest, coziest quarters in town? Ask any of her tenants—if you can dig one up. What does a husband’s unceasing devotion to his frail child send his wife into paroxysms of horror? How much will people pay for vengeance?

    These thirteen tales grab you from the start, hold you fast—and then throw all your expectations out the window with surprise-twist endings that are immensely satisfying. Before Roald Dahl became a master of stories for children, he was a master of adult short stories. His several popular anthologies showcase his skills and an ingenious sleight-of-hand artists. Wendy Cooling specially selected the stories in this collection as an introduction for teenagers to the adult writing of one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

    Author

    Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was born in Llandaff, South Wales, and went to Repton School in England. His parents were Norwegian, so holidays were spent in Norway. As he explains in Boy, he turned down the idea of university in favor of a job that would take him to "a wonderful faraway place." In 1933 he joined the Shell Company, which sent him to Mombasa in East Africa. When World War II began in 1939, he became a fighter pilot and in 1942 was made assistant air attaché in Washington, where he started to write short stories. His first major success as a writer for children was in 1964. Thereafter his children's books brought him increasing popularity, and when he died, children mourned the world over, particularly in Britain where he had lived for many years. View titles by Roald Dahl

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