Two tall Englishmen: Roald Dahl and James/Jan Morris

For identity politics reasons, in 2024 Dahl is being vilified as an antisemite and Morris celebrated as a transgender.

Two tall British writers are back in the news: 6’4” James / Jan Morris and 6’6” Roald Dahl. Both men lived lives of high adventure. Dahl was a fighter ace, shooting down five enemy planes in 1941 dogfights during the British defeat in Greece, while Morris brought down from 22,000 feet on Mt. Everest perhaps Fleet Street’s most celebrated scoop: that Hillary and Tenzing had done it, a headline the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.

But in 2024 they are being celebrated (in the case of Morris) or vilified (Dahl) for identity politics reasons.

To write a book that children love strikes me as being a very fine thing to do, and Dahl was that rare children’s author who wrote masterpieces for two different generations, from James and the Giant Peach in 1961 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964 to The Witches in 1983 and Matilda in 1988.

So, I’m biased in favor of Dahl. The news that 6’5” John Lithgow was to play him on the West End stage sounded promising.

After all, Dahl had lived a fascinating life.