The Guardian Review publishes lost chapter from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl fans, head over to The Guardian Review, because you've got some catching up to do.
The newspaper published "Fudge Mountain" today, a chapter cut from the final version of beloved book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for being "too wild, subversive, and insufficiently moral for the tender minds of British children."
A snippet:
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"That hole," said Mr Wonka, "leads directly to what we call the Pounding and Cutting Room. In there the rough fudge gets tipped out of the wagons into the mouth of a huge machine. The machine then pounds it against the floor until it is all nice and smooth and thin. After that, a whole lot of knives come down and go chop chop chop, cutting it up into neat little squares, ready for the shops."
The chapter offers a fascinating look at story development and Dahl's original plans for his book. In "Fudge Mountain," eight children, instead of the eventual four, journey through Willy Wonka's magical factory. His workers are not yet Oompa Loompas, although they do sing a creepy song. And Charlie Bucket is joined not by his grandfather but by his mother.
Get your weekend nostalgia fix over at The Guardian, where you can read the chapter in its entirety.
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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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