“Edward the Conqueror,” and a child’s horrible
imagination manifests itself physically in “The
Wish” (1953). The protagonist of “Georgy Porgy”
(1959) finds himself trapped inside a woman’s body
quite literally.
Although his short adult fiction includes many
excellent stories, Dahl will be remembered best for
his children’s fantasy novels. JAMES AND THE
GIANT PEACH(1961) is a clever story about a boy,
an oversized piece of fruit, and the unusual insects
that live inside it, but it was CHARLIE AND THE
CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1964, filmed as Willy
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in 1971), that
would make him famous. The novel, somewhat
controversial because of the way some of the less-
admirable children are treated, was followed by a
lesser but still amusing sequel, Charlie and the
Great Glass Elevator(1972).
Although Dahl’s other fantasies for children
are less well known, several of them are quite well
done. An inconsiderate hunter goes through a
strange transformation in The Magic Finger(1966),
a boy and his father have a series of unusual adven-
tures in Danny, the Champion of the World(1975), a
plot is hatched to turn all of the children on Earth
into mice in The Witches(1983), and a boy finds a
tribe of tiny people living in the forest, although
they are definitely not in the benevolent tradition
of Mary Norton’s THE BORROWERS SERIESin The
Minpins(1991). Despite the controversy over what
is perceived as amoral cruelty in some of his stories,
Dahl remains immensely popular with young read-
ers, perhaps because he understands their view-
point better than do most adults.
Dalkey, Kara(1953– )
Kara Dalkey’s first published fantasy fiction con-
sisted of a minor short story in the Liavek shared
world anthology series. Her first novel appeared
shortly thereafter, The Curse of Sagamore(1986), a
pleasant variation from the usual story of the battle
for the throne of a magical kingdom. In this case
the heir apparent, descended from a line of court
jesters, would just as soon avoid the honor, but
there is a magical mark upon him and he is forced
to confront various rivals, some aided by magical
creatures. His frequently humorous adventures
continue in a sequel, The Sword of Sagamore
(1989), which recounts his adventures after he has
assumed the throne.
Dalkey’s other early novels are more serious in
tone. The Nightingale(1988) is a retelling of the
fairy tale by Hans Christian ANDERSEN. In ancient
Japan a woman gifted with a beautiful singing
voice is haunted by a malevolent ghost. Euryale
(1988) features a protagonist who has been turned
into a gorgon, after which she inadvertently turns
her lover to stone. She travels to Rome hoping to
find a cure for her condition and a way to reverse
the transformation of her lover, but when she ac-
complishes her goal, she discovers that the rela-
tionship between the two of them has been altered
irreversibly.
Dalkey fell silent for several years before re-
turning with Little Sister(1996), the first tale of
Mitsuko, set in ancient Japan. Mitsuko must cross
over into a magical realm to find help in rescuing
her family, who have been taken by an evil war-
lord. Mitsuko returns in The Heavenward Path
(1998), in which she and her demonic companion
must fulfill their obligation to a ghost by rebuilding
a shrine and accomplishing other tasks. Both nov-
els rely on a strong sense of place and the intricate
construction of Dalkey’s characters.
Goa(1996) was the first volume in a trilogy,
promptly followed by Bijapur(1997) and Bhagavati
(1998). An adventurer in 16th-century India en-
counters an alchemist who appears to have the
ability to restore the dead to life. He subsequently
explores a hidden city rumored to be the home of a
manifested goddess, then becomes shipwrecked
and is taken prisoner by the Inquisition. The tril-
ogy is Dalkey’s most impressive work and one of
the best historical fantasy sequences of all time.
Three other novels are free standing. In Steel
Rose(1997) an actor uses magic to further his ca-
reer but discovers that there is a price to be paid
for supernatural assistance. Crystal Sage(1999) is
an unusual contemporary fantasy in which one
character is transformed into a guitar, and a friend
has to deal with elves to reverse the process. Gen-
pei(2000), Dalkey’s most recent novel, returns to
early Japan to recount the effects that follow when
gods take sides in a war between men. Of Dalkey’s
short fiction, only “The Peony Lantern” (1991), a76 Dalkey, Kara