{"id":37540,"date":"2023-10-05T18:21:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T16:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1902821"},"modified":"2023-10-05T21:48:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T19:48:39","slug":"is-the-wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-based-on-a-true-story","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/is-the-wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-based-on-a-true-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar based on a true story?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new Wes Anderson short was recently added to Netflix. <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 05 October 2023 at 16:21 PM<\/p>

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Wes Anderson previously adapted the work of Roald Dahl with his delightful animated version of Fantastic Mr Fox, and now the eccentric auteur has returned to the author\u2019s oeuvre with a series of shorts for Netflix.<\/p>\n

Starring a rotating cast of British actors including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes and Dev Patel, the four individual films are each adapted from lesser-known short stories by the iconic children\u2019s author.<\/p>\n

The longest of the four is titled The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and tells of an immensely privileged man who becomes determined to cheat at cards by mastering the ability to see without using his eyes \u2013 inspired by a story of a man named Imdad Khan.<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re wondering if there is any real-life inspiration for the tale \u2013 read on to find out if The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is based on a true story.<\/p>

Is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Benedict\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Benedict Cumberbatch as Henry Sugar in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The simple answer is no<\/strong>, the story is the work of Roald Dahl\u2019s extensive imagination \u2013 and the claims that Henry Sugar\u2019s name has been changed to protect his anonymity are all just part of the playful tone of the film.<\/p>\n

As the card at the end of the film reads: \u201cThe Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar was written by Roald Dahl in his writing hut at Gipsy House in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, between February and December of 1976.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, there was a real person who served as Dahl\u2019s inspiration for the character of Imdad Khan \u2013 specifically a Pakistani magician named Kuda Bux.<\/p>\n

Bux clearly didn\u2019t actually <\/em>have the power to see without using his eyes, but he did gain popularity by touring the world and performing seemingly impossible feats with his eyes taped shut.<\/p>\n

Although hardly a documentarian, Dahl often found inspiration for his whimsical stories in true events \u2013 as is illustrated elsewhere in the collection of shorts that was recently added to Netflix alongside Henry Sugar.<\/p>\n

For example, at the end of The Swan, it is revealed that the story \u201cwas inspired by a newspaper account of an actual event Dahl kept in his \u2018Ideas Book\u2019 for 30 years before writing the story\u201d.<\/p>\n

Likewise, it is stated that The Ratcather was part of a collection of short stories inspired by locals Dahl encountered while living in Amersham, while a character in Poison was named after a pilot Dahl flew with during his time in the RAF.<\/p>