Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety Background

Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety Background

It is safe to say that Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety (originally published in 1991) is one of Roald Dahl's most unique and interesting books in his extensive bibliography. Nominally, it is a book which was written to assist younger children in enjoying the railways responsibly and perhaps most importantly, safely. Through his characteristically jovial and intelligent prose, Dahl instructs kids what to do - and what not to do - while at the railroad. For example, two of Dahl's rules include "DON'T stand on [the] platform['s] edges" and "DON'T open" the doors to a train while the "train is moving."

Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety was very widely read and incredibly well-reviewed. In their review, The Telegraph remarked that "this gruesome 1991 pamphlet is the pinnacle of Dahl’s delight in the cautionary tale – children step on railway lines and are zapped black and yellow by the voltage, or lose their heads out of train windows."

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