From The Times
September 12, 2009
Roald Dahl’s widow, Liccy, recalls her life with the real BFG
Dahl wrote stories filled with cruelty, misanthropy and mischievous fun. But 20 years after his death, he is more popular than ever. His widow talks about their life together
by Damian Whitworth

At Gipsy House, the family home in Buckinghamshire where Roald Dahl dreamt up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and The BFG, the atmosphere is so thick with his presence that it feels as if he has been gone but a few minutes. As his widow, Liccy, talks about Dahl, one half expects him to step back in from having a cigarette in the garden or come creaking down the stairs.

I am not in the habit of taking my children to interviews, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to give them a peek at the home of their favourite author. When Michael Jackson died and I explained to my son that he was famous, he said: “More famous than Roald Dahl?” Liccy Dahl cross-examines him on his favourite Dahl book. The BFG, he says. That book, she explains, originated upstairs as a bedtime story for Dahl’s own children. “It started with Roald pretending he was the BFG [Big Friendly Giant], which of course he was. He was six foot six.”
Later, as Liccy sits chatting in the dining room while a cook whisks away in the kitchen, it becomes clear why Roald feels so eerily present. New Roald Dahl projects are being conceived all the time at this long dining-room table.

Dahl died almost 20 years ago but is selling even more books than during his lifetime. Amanda Conquy, an old family friend who was at nursery school with Dahl’s daughter, Tessa, and now runs the literary estate, is coy about exact figures. “He was selling millions and he continues to sell even more millions. He’s one of the world’s bestselling storytellers and that’s extraordinary for somebody who has been dead for 20 years. When I started I would never have used the word ‘brand’. But I can’t now ignore it. He makes a brilliant brand.”

This autumn an animated movie of Fantastic Mr Fox starring George Clooney and Meryl Streep is released. John Cleese has been involved in the early development of Working Title’s film of The Twits. A musical of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, involving Sam Mendes, is intended for the West End and Broadway, while the RSC is working on a production of Matilda.

Then there is the merchandising and the Roald Dahl Foundation, which gives millions to charity, and the Roald Dahl Museum down the road from Gipsy House in Great Missenden. Tomorrow, his birthday, is Roald Dahl Day. Originally a one-off, it is now an annual event and for the first time is happening in America as well. Last week the shortlist was announced for the second Roald Dahl Funny Prize, which is awarded to authors of humorous books for under-6s and 7 to 14-year-olds.

Read the full piece at The Times online.

And for this story - Roald Dahl’s childhood sweet shop, thought to be the inspiration for some of his greatest books, has been identified as a Chinese takeaway in the village where he grew up - link to The Telegraph.