Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
Summary
Poor, kindhearted Charlie Bucket wins one of five golden tickets granting a tour of the mysterious chocolate factory run by the reclusive Willy Wonka, joining four spoiled and badly behaved children whose flaws lead them one by one into inventive, cautionary misfortune. Dahl combines gleeful invention, dark comic punishment, and genuine warmth toward his humble hero, building a fantastical factory that has become one of the most vividly imagined settings in children's literature. The book's mix of whimsy and moral comeuppance has made it one of the best selling children's novels of the twentieth century.
Historical Context & Significance
The 1965 Newbery Medal went to Maia Wojciechowska's Shadow of a Bull, a solemn coming of age story worlds away from Dahl's anarchic invention. Dahl received no major literary prize during his lifetime despite becoming one of the best selling children's authors in history.