Collected Short Stories

Later known for his immortal children’s books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and The BFG, Dahl also had a genius for adult short fiction, which he wrote throughout his life. Whether fictionalizing his dramatic exploits as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II or concocting the ingeniously plotted fables that were dramatized on television as Tales of the Unexpected, Dahl was brilliant at provoking in his readers the overwhelming desire to know what happens next—and at satisfying that desire in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable.

Filled with devilish plot twists, his tales display a tantalizing blend of macabre humor and the absurdly grotesque. From “The Landlady,” about an unusual boardinghouse that features a small but very permanent clientele, to “Pig,” a brutally funny look at vegetarianism, to “Man from the South,” in which a fanatical gambler does his betting with hammer, nails, and a butcher’s knife, Dahl’s creations amuse and shock us in equal measure, gleefully reminding us of what might lurk beneath the surface of the ordinary.

Contains 51 stories (order varies by edition):

From [Kiss Kiss](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16248853W/Kiss_Kiss)
[Landlady](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504259W/Landlady)
[William and Mary](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504266W/William_and_Mary)
[The Way Up to Heaven](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504268W/The_Way_Up_to_Heaven)
[Parson's Pleasure](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8318648W/Parson's_Pleasure)
[Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3985404W/Mrs._Bixby_and_the_Colonel's_Coat)
[Royal Jelly](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504271W/Royal_Jelly)
[Georgy Porgy](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504272W/Georgy_Porgy)
[Genesis and Catastrophe](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504273W/Genesis_and_Catastrophe)
[Edward the Conqueror](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504274W/Edward_the_Conqueror)
[Pig](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504275W/Pig)
[Champion of the World](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504277W/Champion_of_the_World)

From [Over to You](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL45867W/Over_to_You)
[Death of an Old, Old Man](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504282W/Death_of_an_Old_Old_Man)
[An African Story](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504280W/An_African_Story)
[A Piece of Cake](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504283W/A_Piece_of_Cake)
[Madame Rosette](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504284W/Madame_Rosette)
[Katina](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504285W/Katina)
[Yesterday Was Beautiful](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504287W/Yesterday_Was_Beautiful)
[They Shall Not Grow Old](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504289W/They_Shall_Not_Grow_Old)
[Beware of the Dog](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504290W/Beware_of_the_Dog)
[Only This](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504291W/Only_This)
[Someone Like You](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15348115W/Someone_Like_You)

From [Switch Bitch](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL45873W/Switch_Bitch)
[Visitor](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504386W/The_Visitor)
[Great Switcheroo](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15091023W/The_Great_Switcheroo)
[Last Act](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504394W/The_Last_Act)
[Bitch](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504401W/Bitch)

From [Someone Like You](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL45868W/Someone_Like_You)
[Taste](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15091200W/Taste)
[Lamb to the Slaughter](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504418W/Lamb_to_the_Slaughter)
[Man from the South](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504421W/Man_from_the_South)
[The Soldier](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504424W/The_Soldier)
[My Lady Love, My Dove](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504441W/My_Lady_Love_My_Dove)
[Dip in the Pool](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504442W/Dip_in_the_Pool)
[Galloping Foxley](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504444W/Galloping_Foxley)
[Skin](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504460W/Skin)
[Poison](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504477W/Poison)
[Wish](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504494W/The_Wish)
[Neck](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504509W/Neck)
[Sound Machine](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8318678W/The_Sound_Machine)
[Nunc Dimittis](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504524W/Nunc_Dimittis)
[Great Automatic Grammatizator](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504542W/The_Great_Automatic_Grammatizator)
Claud's Dog
[Ratcatcher](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504625W/The_Ratcatcher)
[Rummins](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504633W/Rummins)
[Mr Hoddy](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504639W/Mr_Hoddy)
[Mr Feasey](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504641W/Mr_Feasey)


Eight Further Tales of the Unexpected
The umbrella man --
Mr Botibol --
Vengeance is Mine Inc. --
The butler --
Ah, sweet mystery of life --
[Bookseller](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504708W/The_Bookseller)
[Hitchhiker](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20504711W/The_Hitchhiker)
The surgeon