Posted on November 7, 2018 at 2:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
The Guardian has learned that the United Kingdom’s Royal Mint rejected plans to make a commemorative Roald Dahl coin in 2014, over concerns about his anti-Semitic views.
Documents that the Guardian gained access to also reveal that decision-makers didn’t feel Dahl, who would have turned one hundred that year, was “an author of the highest reputation.”
(If you weren’t aware of his objectionable comments, which were overlooked for quite some time, you can see examples of them in the original article.)
The vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews as well as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Jews both told the Guardian that while they don’t deny Dahl’s contributions to children’s literature, they appreciated the Royal Mint’s decision.
The Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the author’s copyrights and trademarks, did not comment in the article.
Categories: Today in Books