Books by Ann Alston

Roald Dahl is one of the world's best-loved authors. More than twenty years after his death, his books are still highly popular with children and have inspired numerous feature films - yet he remains a controversial figure.This volume, the first collection of academic essays ever to be devoted to Dahl's work, brings together a team of well-known scholars of children's literature to explore the man, his books for children, and his complex attitudes towards various key subjects. Including essays on education, crime, Dahl's humour, his long-term collaboration with the artist Quentin Blake, and film adaptations, this fascinating collection offers a unique insight into the writer and his world.

Focuses on the ideological construction of the family in children's literature from Mrs Sherwood's Evangelical text of 1818 "The History of the Fairchild Family" to Jacqueline Wilson's social reality novels, interrogating the idea that portrayals of family in children's literature have changed dramatically.