1975; illustrations by Jill Bennett; Alfred A. Knopf publishers, New York; hardbound; very good condition with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good with very minor wear.
description -
The plot centres on Danny, a young English boy, and his father, William. They live in a Gypsy caravan, fix cars for a living in their mechanic shop and partake in poaching pheasants. It was first published on February 14, 1975 in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape. It was later adapted into a made-for-TV movie in 1989 by Thames Television which starred Jeremy Irons as William and Robbie Coltrane as Mr Victor Hazell. The novel is based on Dahl's adult short story "The Champion of the World" which first appeared in print in The New Yorker magazine, as did some of the other short stories that would later be reprinted as Kiss Kiss (1960).
Danny, who was born in the mid-1960s, was only four months old when his mother died suddenly. He is an only child. At the beginning of the book, he lives with his father, William, in an old caravan behind the service station and garage owned and operated by his father in the south of England. Danny and his father are very close and share pastimes like building and flying kites, fire balloons, and go-karts. William is also an excellent storyteller and a version of The BFG is told to Danny as a bedtime story. The father and son have generally idyllic times despite not having much.
Mr. Victor Hazell is an unpleasant, wealthy local nouveau riche gentleman and beer magnate who lives in a nearby mansion and had been to their filling station and threatened Danny with a hiding if there were fingerprints found on his silver Rolls-Royce. At the age of nine, Danny learns that his father was an avid poacher, as was his late grandfather before him, after discovering his absence in the middle of the night and being faced with a long wait for him to return home. Danny's father has been poaching in the local woods which are owned by Victor Hazell.
A short time afterwards, Danny wakes at 02:10 to find his father hasn't returned from his latest poaching venture on Hazell's property. Danny nervously borrows an Austin 7 which has been repaired at their garage to drive to the property and search for his father. Danny, unaware that the keepers depart after sunset, sneaks through the woods where he finds his father incapacitated by a suspected broken ankle in a trap intended for humans. Danny rescues his father and drives him back home...