In addition to his celebrated childrens' books such asJames and the Giant Peach andCharlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl wrote short fiction for adult audiences, and the tales collected inSomeone Like Youare dark, witty morsels of intrigue and suspense from a master storyteller. This Penguin Modern Classics edition is published with a foreword by Dom Joly.

These eighteen tales of the macabre show Dahl's dark brilliance as a short story writer. They are wicked (as an old man attracts the attentions of those more interested in his skin than his wellbeing), shocking (as distasteful bets are made - a daughter's hand on the identity of a glass of claret, a finger risked for a Cadillac) and blackly humorous (as a cuckolded husband receives a chance to take his revenge out on his wife's neck).Someone Like Youis as devilishly ingenious and suspenseful as writing gets.

With the publication ofJames and the Giant PeachandCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryin the 1960s, Roald Dahl (1916-90) became the most successful children's author in the world, Roald Dahl. Nearly twenty years after his death in 1990, a fresh generation of children seek out his work with instinctive fanaticism. His creations endure - through Hollywood movies, theatre adaptations and musical works, but still most potently through the pure magic of his writing upon the page.

If you enjoyedSomeone Like You, you might like Saki'sThe Complete Short Stories, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

'Fantastic as Grimm, heartless as Saki'
Guardian