Kiss Kiss

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960. Delicately, the Naive Punish the Wicked, But Also the Other Way Around...

DAHL, Roald. Kiss Kiss. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960.

First edition. Octavo (7 9/16 x 5 1/8 inches; 192 x 130 mm.). [x], [1]-308, [2] pp.

Publisher's violet cloth , front cover with decoration in pink and black, lower cover with Borzoi monogram in black.Spine with pink panel, lettered in black, top edge stained pink, others uncut. Pictorial dust jacket, unclipped with price $3.95 at top of front flap. A near fine copy.

First New York edition preceding the Toronto and London editions.

Kiss Kiss is a collection of eleven short stories including The Landlady, Royal Jelly, Georgy Porgy, and The Champion of the World (a condensed version of the story that would become Dahl's 1975 children's book Danny the Champion of the World).

These are some of Dahl's most macabre stories. Delicately, the naive punish the wicked, but also the other way around. Most of the stories are presented as typical narratives, albeit with imaginative characters. The horror of each story is built around implication, and many horrific endings, involving death or unpleasant situations, can only be inferred, since nothing is directly stated.

The British film director Alfred Hitchcock adapted half a dozen of Dahl's tales for his own television show in the late '50s and '60s. All six can be found between the two short story collections, Someone Like You and Kiss, Kiss: This volume contains The Landlady, Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, and Royal Jelly.

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Dahl has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century