This post was provided by UK correspondent Evan Smythe.

Museum and Story Centre

I found the captivating, absurdist fiction of Roald Dahl through James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but became a committed Dahl enthusiast through his Tales of the Unexpected, Ghost Stories and The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar. I recently made my own literary pilgrimage to the charming Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in the attractive Buckinghanshire village of Great Missenden.

The Museum and Story Centre is dedicated to telling the fabulous story of the world’s most popular children’s writer with interactive exhibits, manuscripts, photos, films and Dahl’s archives. With doors that look and smell like giant chocolate bars, the delightful museum is a must visit for Dahl readers of all ages.

For me, no other writer has offered that magical combination of absurd imagination, quirkyness, macabre
humor and mischief. Dahl was a modern fairy tale writer, who intuitively understood that children need to come to terms with the unfairness of the world, but still need to retain belief in their own ingenuity and hope for the future.

You can learn more about Roald Dahl and the Museum at their website. Great Missenden can be reached by train from Marylebone Station, London, in under forty minutes.