Schemers and Scams
These are stories of scheming, most of which do not turn out well for the schemer. Occasionally, there is another character who is centered as the scammer du jour of the story, such as antiques dealer Cyril Boggis who disguises himself as a minister in order to buy stuff low and sell it high. For the most part, however, the schemes are concocted by or involve to a large extent Claud Cubbage. Schemes range from trying to fix greyhound races to an unmentionable (you’ll be thankful for that) plan to impress Claud’s potential future father-in-law with his business acumen. What unifies all the schemes and scams perpetrated throughout is ultimate failure.
Country Life
Dahl’s short stories range across the board when it comes to setting. His war stories span from North Africa to Greece. A great many stories are set in lower on the continent of Africa. Tales of unexpected weirdness take the reader from London to New York while his stories for kids often exist entirely in the world of imagination. These stories were written for the most part by Dahl in his thirties in a place he describes in the Preface as “fine Buckinghamshire country.” For this reason, instead of the sophisticated characters caught inextricably in the web of fate in those unexpected tales, the characters in these stories (though failed schemers, obviously) are simpler folk: farmers, ratcatchers, the local drunk, greyhound racing enthusiasts, and the vicar’s wife.
Autobiography
A tendency has been created to make much out of the face that the character of Claud is based on a person named Claud known by the author and that, indeed, a few other characters are specifically based on actual people The setting, as mentioned, is inspired by the actual place where the stories were written. With this in mind, there is the sense that in these stories Dahl relies less upon his imagination than in such less realistic works as, say, Willy Wonka or Fantastic Mr. Fox. This might be worth further investigation were it not for the verifiable facts (gleaned from Dahl’s own autobiographical memoirs) that Willy Wonka’s origin story can be traced back to his schooldays and that the story and characters in Fantastic Mr. Fox bear a very strong resemblance (and in one case even share a name) with tone and atmosphere established in these more substantively realistic stories. Dahl is one of those writers where autobiography informs pretty much everything he ever wrote in one fashion or another; it is just less disguised by fewer imaginative flourishes in the stories in this collection.
