After many years of being out of print, this is a sumptuous new edition of the ORIGINAL tales about the magical car.
Written in the early sixties for his son, Ian Fleming's stories were originally published as three separate books. This anthology combines them into one thrilling adventure.
For those who only know the film, it will be a surprise to discover how far the script of the film departs from Fleming's book. Roald Dahl contributed to the script (although he is said to have been unhappy with it)and it is tempting to imagine Truly Scrumptious and the child catcher are his inventions. They are certainly not Flemings.
In the original story - set in the '60's, the Pott family (including a live-and-well mother) rescue a derelict car and become emboiled in the gangster Joe The Monster's plots to steal sweets from Monsieur Bon Bon's sweet shop in Paris. There are guns and explosions, kidnappings and all sorts of mortal dangers...and the whistling sweets are in there too!
And the car does of course fly and float, with perfect timing!
Burningham's astonishing illustrations were not used when designing the film car. His green dragon of a car is a magnificent eccentric creation none the less and the whole book should be on every young boy's bookshelf.