{"product_id":"love-from-boy","title":"Love From Boy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Dear Mama, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI am having a lovely time here. We play football every day here. The beds have no springs . . .''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo begins the first letter that a nine-year-old Roald Dahl penned to his mother, Sofie Magdalene, under the watchful eye of his boarding-school headmaster. For most of his life, Roald Dahl would continue to write weekly letters to his mother, chronicling his adventures, frustrations and opinions, from the delights of childhood to the excitements of flying as a World War II fighter pilot and the thrill of meeting top politicians and movie stars during his time as a diplomat and spy in Washington. And, unbeknown to Roald, his mother lovingly kept every single one of them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSofie was, in many ways, Roald''s first reader. It was she who encouraged him to tell stories and nourished his desire to fabricate, exaggerate and entertain. Reading these letters, you can see Roald practicing his craft, developing the dark sense of humour and fantastical imagination that would later produce such timeless tales as \u003ci\u003eThe BFG\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMatilda\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFantastic Mr Fox\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Witches\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eThe letters in \u003ci\u003eLove from Boy\u003c\/i\u003e are littered with jokes and madcap observations; sometimes serious, sometimes tender, and often outrageous. To eavesdrop on a son''s letters to his mother is to witness Roald Dahl turning from a boy to a man, and finally becoming a writer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57317982503294,"sku":"NW9781444786286","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781444786286.jpg?v=1780084930","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/love-from-boy","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}