My Uncle Oswald

***His first novel for grownups* ** From that most dramatically dual of literary personalities, writing *not* in his classic Chocolate Factory incarnation but as the devilish Dahl of *[Kiss Kiss (1959)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44521.Kiss_Kiss__1959_ Kiss Kiss (1959)) * and *[Switch Bitch (1974)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16557857.Switch_Bitch__1974_ Switch Bitch (1974)) *—here is the ultimate adult romp. Behold Uncle Oswald, Michelangelo of seduction. He makes Casanova look like Winnie the Pooh. He stumbles—circa 1919—onto the world’s most powerful aphrodisiac: Powdered Sudanese Blister Beetle. *It* makes Spanish Fly look like Ovaltine. Then he discovers aa method of quick-freezing sperm… and gets the most inspired commercial idea in history. *First* he makes a list of the 51 living geniuses and crowned heads (from young James Joyce and king Albert of the Belgians to Puccini and Henry Ford) whom your average very rich and ambitious woman might most want to father her children. *Then* he retains the half-Persian, ineffably beautiful (and insatiable) biology student Yasmin to personally administer Blister Beetle to each of the famous 51 and, during each incredible aftermath, to collect the priceless essence of fatherhood for freezing. *Well.* As well follow Yasmin across Europe—from Genius to Genius and Royal to Royal—amazing scenes take place. George Bernard Shaw’s ultimate secret is revealed. Freud is utterly bewildered. Picasso doesn’t even put down his paintbrush… How does Yasmin gain access to the great? Which of Them is most interestingly activated by the Beetle Pill: King Alfonso? Proust? Kipling perhaps? Who will ultimately make a fortune from the scheme? And will the world be increasingly populated (and, of course, enhanced) by the secret progeny and grandprogeny, ad infinitum, of the dazzling 51? These are only a few of the questions answered in a book in which you encounter—under quite extraordinary circumstances—just about everybody who was anybody you might like to have for your dad. *Edition MSRP: US ⁹⁵ US* (ISBN 0-394-51011-9)