Never-before-published section of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' is available for reading
The children's book by Roald Dahl is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
A never-before-published chapter of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was recently revealed.
The little-known section centers on a Vanilla Fudge Room which, according to the Guardian, appeared in an early version of Dahl’s book. Fans of the book will note differences between this early text and the book's final version, such as the character Augustus Gloop, who appears in this chapter as Augustus Pottle.
In the Vanilla Fudge Room, men work taking sections of candy out of a vanilla fudge mountain. Two boys disobey Willy Wonka’s instructions not to ride on wagons that carry fudge and which travel to a “pounding and cutting room,” according to Wonka. New illustrations by illustrator Quentin Blake, who frequently worked on Dahl’s books, appear with the new chapter in the Guardian.
According to the Guardian, the Vanilla Fudge Room chapter was originally considered “too wild, subversive and insufficiently moral” and so was not included in the final version of the novel.
“Charlie” is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary since its original publication. The book has been adapted into two films over the years: the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” which starred Gene Wilder and Peter Ostrum, and the 2005 film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which stars Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore. A new musical version of the book s currently being staged in London.
Check out the full chapter from an early draft of “Charlie” here.