A bookworm has escaped an £800 fine after returning three Roald Dahl titles to a library 42 years late.
They checked out ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, ‘Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator’ and ‘The BFG’ in 1982.
They were sheepishly brought back over four decades later.
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The books were returned to Parry Sound Public Library, near Toronto, in Ontario, Canada.
Cayla Norrie, the library’s programming manager, said the three books had already been deleted from their database.
Therefore, librarians had to estimate how long they were overdue based on the publishing dates.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published in 1964, the sequel was released in 1972, and The BFG came out in 1982.
Luckily for the patron, the library went fine-free several years ago otherwise they would have faced a £795 (CAD 1,423.50) fee.
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Mrs Norrie said: “Did you know we don’t charge overdue fines anymore?
“If we did, this poor patron would have owed $1,423.50 for returning these books almost 40 years overdue.”
She added: “Better late than never.”
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Local Sylvia said: “I hope they made a goodwill donation.”
Jes wrote: “They had great taste.”
As well as the three returned books, Dahl also wrote classics such as ‘James and the Giant Peach’ (1961), ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ (1970), ‘Danny, the Champion of the World’ (1975), and ‘Matilda’ (1988).
The British author, who passed away in 1990, also co-wrote the screenplays for the hit children’s film ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ (1968) and the fifth James Bond movie ‘You Only Live Twice’ (1967).
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