Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer,
fighter pilotA fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
and screenwriter.
Born in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to Norwegian parents, he served in the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during the Second World War, in which he became a
flying aceA flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of
Wing CommanderWing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
. Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". In 2008
The TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest
British writersBritish Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
since 1945". His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very
dark humourA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
.
Some of his notable works include
James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
,
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
,
George's Marvellous Medicine,
Fantastic Mr Fox,
MatildaMatilda is a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London, with illustrations by Quentin Blake. The story is about Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child with ordinary and rather unpleasant parents, who are contemptuous of their daughter's...
,
The Witches and
The BFGThe BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
.
Early life
Roald Dahl was born at Villa Marie, Fairwater Road in
LlandaffLlandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
,
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales in 1916, to Norwegian parents, Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Dahl (
née Hesselberg). Dahl's father had moved from
Sarpsborgis a city and municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neighbouring Fredrikstad...
in Norway and settled in Cardiff in the 1880s. His mother came over to marry his father in 1911. Dahl was named after the polar explorer
Roald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....
, a national hero in Norway at the time. He spoke Norwegian at home with his parents and sisters, Astri, Alfhild, and Else. Dahl and his sisters were christened at the
Norwegian Church, CardiffThe Norwegian Church in the Cardiff Bay area of the city of Cardiff, Wales, is a historic church building and formerly a place of worship for the Norwegian community in Cardiff....
, where their parents worshipped.
In 1920, when Dahl was three years old, his seven-year-old sister, Astri, died from
appendicitisAppendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. Weeks later, his father died of
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the age of 57 while on a fishing trip in the Antarctic. With the option of returning to Norway to live with relatives, Dahl's mother decided to remain in Wales because her husband Harald had wished to have their children educated in British schools, which he considered the world's best.
Dahl first attended
The Cathedral School, LlandaffThe Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh independent senior, prep and pre-prep day school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school is part of the Woodard Schools foundation, as well as having many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral.In 1880 Dean John Vaughan opened a...
. At the age of eight, he and four of his friends (one named Thwaites) were
canedCorporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
by the headmaster after putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at the local sweet shop, which was owned by a "mean and loathsome" old woman called Mrs Pratchett. This was known amongst the five boys as the "
Great Mouse Plot of 1924Boy: Tales of Childhood is the first autobiographical book by British writer Roald Dahl. It describes his life from birth until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to...
".
Thereafter, he transferred to a
boarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in England: Saint Peter's in
Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
. Roald's parents had wanted him to be educated at an English public school and, because of a then regular ferry link across the Bristol Channel, this proved to be the nearest. His time at Saint Peter's was an unpleasant experience for him. He was very homesick and wrote to his mother every week, but never revealed to her his unhappiness, being under the pressure of school censorship. Only after her death in 1967 did he find out that she had saved every single one of his letters, in small bundles held together with green tape. Dahl wrote about his time at St. Peter's in his autobiography
Boy: Tales of ChildhoodBoy: Tales of Childhood is the first autobiographical book by British writer Roald Dahl. It describes his life from birth until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to...
.
From 1929, he attended
Repton SchoolRepton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
in Derbyshire, where, according to
Boy: Tales of Childhood, a friend named Michael was viciously caned by headmaster
Geoffrey FisherGeoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, GCVO, PC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1945 to 1961.-Background:...
, the man who later became the
Archbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
and went on to crown the Queen in 1953. (However, according to Dahl's biographer
Jeremy TreglownJeremy Treglown is a British author and literary critic, who has written biographies of Roald Dahl, Henry Green and V.S. Pritchett. He is Professor of English at the University of Warwick....
, the caning took place in May 1933, a year after Fisher had left Repton. The headmaster concerned was in fact J.T. Christie, Fisher's successor.) This caused Dahl to "have doubts about religion and even about God". He was never seen as a particularly talented writer in his school years, with one of his English teachers writing in his school report "I have never met anybody who so persistently writes words meaning the exact opposite of what is intended," Dahl was exceptionally tall, reaching in adult life. He excelled at sports, being made captain of the school
fivesFives is a British sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a special court using gloved or bare hands as though they were a racquet.-Background:...
and
squashSquash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
teams, and also playing for the football team. As well as having a passion for literature, he also developed an interest in photography and often carried a camera with him. During his years at Repton, Cadbury, the chocolate company, would occasionally send boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by the pupils. Dahl apparently used to dream of inventing a new chocolate bar that would win the praise of Mr. Cadbury himself, and this proved the inspiration for him to write his third book for children,
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
(1963) and include references to chocolate in other books for children.
Throughout his childhood and adolescent years, Dahl spent his summer holidays with his mother's family in Norway. His childhood and first job selling kerosene in
Midsomer NortonMidsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton...
and surrounding villages in
SomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
,
south WestSouth West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
England are subjects in
Boy: Tales of Childhood. The main child character in his 1983 book
The Witches is a British boy of Norwegian descent, whose grandmother is still living in Norway.
After finishing his schooling, he spent three weeks hiking through
NewfoundlandNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
with the Public Schools' Exploring Society (now known as
BSES Expeditions-History:BSES Expeditions is one of the longest-running and most distinctive youth development charities of its kind. Based at the Royal Geographical Society, BSES Expeditions was founded in 1932, by an original member of Captain Scott's final Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13, Surgeon Commander...
).
In July 1934, Dahl joined the
Shell PetroleumRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
Company. Following two years of training in the United Kingdom, he was transferred to Dar-es-Salaam,
TanganyikaTanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
(now
TanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
). Along with the only two other Shell employees in the entire territory, he lived in luxury in the Shell House outside Dar-es-Salaam, with a
cookA cook is a person who prepares food for consumption. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada this profession requires government approval ....
and personal servants. While out on assignments supplying oil to customers across Tanganyika, he encountered
black mambaThe black mamba , also called the common black mamba or black-mouthed mamba, is the longest venomous snake in Africa, averaging around in length, and sometimes growing to lengths of...
s and lions, amongst other
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
.
Fighter ace
In August 1939, as World War II loomed, plans were made to round up the hundreds of Germans in Dar-es-Salaam. Dahl was made an officer in the
King's African RiflesThe King's African Rifles was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within the East African colonies as well as external service as...
, commanding a platoon of
AskariAskari is an Arabic, Bosnian, Urdu, Turkish, Somali, Persian, Amharic and Swahili word meaning "soldier" . It was normally used to describe local troops in East Africa, Northeast Africa, and Central Africa serving in the armies of European colonial powers...
s, indigenous troops serving in the colonial army.
In November 1939, Dahl joined the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as an
AircraftmanAircraftman , or Aircraftwoman , is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries....
. After a 600 miles (965.6 km) car journey from Dar-es-Salaam to
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, he was accepted for flight training with 16 other men, of whom only two others survived the war. With seven hours and 40 minutes experience in a
De Havilland Tiger MothThe de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
, he flew solo; Dahl enjoyed watching the wildlife of
KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
during his flights. He continued to advanced flying training in
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, at
RAF HabbaniyaRoyal Air Force Station Habbaniya, more commonly known as RAF Habbaniya, was a Royal Air Force station at Habbaniyah, about west of Baghdad in modern day Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates near Lake Habbaniyah...
, 50 miles (80.5 km) west of
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. He was promoted to
Leading AircraftmanLeading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) Leading aircraftman (LAC) (or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a rank in some air forces, between aircraftman and senior aircraftman and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller....
on 24 August 1940. Following six months' training on
Hawker HartThe Hawker Hart was a British two-seater biplane light bomber of the Royal Air Force , which had a prominent role during the RAF's inter-war period. The Hart was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and built by Hawker Aircraft...
s, Dahl was made an
Acting Pilot OfficerActing Pilot Officer is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force, being immediately junior to Pilot Officer. Unlike other RAF ranks which officers may hold in an acting capacity, Acting Pilot Officer is maintained as a separate grade. It normally denotes an officer who has recently...
.
He was assigned to
No. 80 Squadron RAFNo. 80 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II.-Establishment and early service:...
, flying obsolete
Gloster GladiatorThe Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...
s, the last
biplaneA biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
fighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
used by the RAF. Dahl was surprised to find that he would not receive any specialised training in aerial combat, or in flying Gladiators. On 19 September 1940, Dahl was ordered to fly his Gladiator from Abu Sueir in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, on to Amiriya to refuel, and again to Fouka in
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
for a second refuelling. From there he would fly to 80 Squadron's forward airstrip 30 miles (48.3 km) south of Mersa Matruh. On the final leg, he could not find the airstrip and, running low on
fuelFuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
and with night approaching, he was forced to attempt a landing in the desert. The undercarriage hit a boulder and the aircraft crashed, fracturing his skull, smashing his nose, and temporarily blinding him. He managed to drag himself away from the blazing wreckage and passed out. Later, he wrote about the crash for his first published work.
Dahl was rescued and taken to a
first-aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
post in Mersa Matruh, where he regained consciousness, but not his sight, and was then taken by train to the Royal Navy hospital in
AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. There he fell in and out of love with a nurse, Mary Welland. An RAF inquiry into the crash revealed that the location to which he had been told to fly was completely wrong, and he had mistakenly been sent instead to the
no man's landNo man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
between the Allied and Italian forces.
In February 1941, Dahl was discharged from hospital and passed fully fit for flying duties. By this time, 80 Squadron had been transferred to the
Greek campaignThe Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
and based at
EleusinaEleusina is a town and municipality in West Attica, Greece. It is situated about 18 km northwest from the centre of Athens. It is located in the Thriasian Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. It is the seat of administration of West Attica regional unit...
, near
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. The squadron was now equipped with
Hawker HurricaneThe Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s. Dahl flew a replacement Hurricane across the Mediterranean Sea in April 1941, after seven hours flying Hurricanes. By this stage in the Greek campaign, the RAF had only 18 combat aircraft in Greece: 14 Hurricanes and four
Bristol BlenheimThe Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
light bombers. Dahl saw his first aerial combat on 15 April 1941, while flying alone over the city of
ChalcisChalcis or Chalkida , the chief town of the island of Euboea in Greece, is situated on the strait of the Evripos at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from antiquity and is derived from the Greek χαλκός , though there is no trace of any mines in the area...
. He attacked six Junkers Ju-88s that were bombing ships and shot one down. On 16 April in another air battle, he shot down another Ju-88.
On 20 April 1941, Dahl took part in the "Battle of Athens", alongside the highest-scoring British Commonwealth ace of World War II,
Pat PattleSquadron Leader Marmaduke Thomas St. John "Pat" Pattle DFC & Bar was a South African-born Second World War flying ace for the Royal Air Force. Pattle was a fighter ace with a very high score, and is sometimes noted as being the highest-scoring British and Commonwealth pilot of the Second World War...
and Dahl's friend
David CokeThe Honourable David Arthur Coke , DFC was a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Reserve during the Second World War, and is considered a flying ace, being credited with 2 destroyed, 2 probables and 2 damaged...
. Of 12 Hurricanes involved, five were shot down and four of their pilots killed, including Pattle. Greek observers on the ground counted 22 German aircraft downed, but because of the confusion of the aerial engagement, none of the pilots knew which plane they had shot down. Dahl described it as
"an endless blur of enemy fighters whizzing towards me from every side".
In May, as the Germans were pressing on Athens, Dahl was evacuated to Egypt. His squadron was reassembled in
HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. From there, Dahl flew sorties every day for a period of four weeks, shooting down a
Vichy French Air ForceThe Vichy French Air Force was the aerial branch of the armed forces of Vichy France - the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers following the defeat of France by Germany in 1940....
Potez 63 on 8 June and another Ju-88 on 15 June, but he then began to get severe headaches that caused him to
black outG-LOC, pronounced 'GEE-lock', is the abbreviation of G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness, a term generally used in aerospace physiology to describe a loss of consciousness occurring from excessive and sustained g-forces draining blood away from the brain causing cerebral hypoxia...
. He was invalided home to Britain. Though at this time Dahl was only an
Acting Pilot OfficerActing Pilot Officer is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force, being immediately junior to Pilot Officer. Unlike other RAF ranks which officers may hold in an acting capacity, Acting Pilot Officer is maintained as a separate grade. It normally denotes an officer who has recently...
, in September 1941 he was simultaneously confirmed as a
Pilot OfficerPilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
and promoted to
Flying OfficerFlying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
.
Dahl began writing in 1942, after he was transferred to Washington, D.C. as Assistant
Air AttachéAn air attaché is an Air Force officer who is part of a diplomatic mission; this post is normally filled by a high-ranking officer.An air attaché typically represents the chief of his home air force in the foreign country where he serves. The day-to-day responsibilities include maintaining contacts...
. His first published work, in 1 August 1942 issue of
The Saturday Evening PostThe Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
, was "Shot Down Over Libya" which described the crash of his Gloster Gladiator.
C. S. ForesterCecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
had asked Dahl to write down some RAF anecdotes so that he could shape them into a story. After Forester read what Dahl had given him, he decided to publish the story exactly as Dahl had written it. The original title of the article was "A Piece of Cake" but the title was changed to sound more dramatic, despite the fact that he was not actually shot down.
Dahl was promoted to
Flight LieutenantFlight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
in August 1942. During the war, Forester worked for the British Information Service and was writing propaganda for the Allied cause, mainly for American consumption. This work introduced Dahl to espionage and the activities of the Canadian spymaster
William StephensonSir William Samuel Stephenson, CC, MC, DFC was a Canadian soldier, airman, businessman, inventor, spymaster, and the senior representative of British intelligence for the entire western hemisphere during World War II. He is best known by his wartime intelligence codename Intrepid...
, known by the codename "Intrepid".
During the war, Dahl supplied intelligence from Washington to Stephenson and his organisation known as
British Security CoordinationBritish Security Coordination was a covert organization set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service in May 1940 upon the authorization of Winston Churchill.-Operation:...
, which was part of
MI6The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
. He was revealed in the 1980s to have been serving to help promote Britain's interests and message in the United States and to combat the "
America FirstThe America First Committee was the foremost non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. Peaking at 800,000 members, it was likely the largest anti-war organization in American history. Started in 1940, it became defunct after the attack on Pearl Harbor in...
" movement, working with such other well known agents as
Ian FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
and David Ogilvy. Dahl was once sent back to Britain by British Embassy officials, supposedly for misconduct – "I got booted out by the big boys," he said. Stephenson promptly sent him back to Washington—with a promotion to
Wing CommanderWing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
. Towards the end of the war, Dahl wrote some of the history of the secret organisation and he and Stephenson remained friends for decades after the war.
Upon the war's conclusion, Dahl held the rank of a temporary
Wing CommanderWing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
(substantive
Flight LieutenantFlight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
). Owing to his accident in 1940 having left him with excruciating headaches while flying, in August 1946 he was invalided out of the RAF. He left the service with the substantive rank of
Squadron LeaderSquadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. His record of five aerial victories, qualifying him as a
flying aceA flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
, has been confirmed by post-war research and cross-referenced in Axis records, although it is most likely that he scored more than that during 20 April 1941 when 22 German aircraft were shot down.
Postwar life
Dahl married American actress
Patricia NealPatricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
on 2 July 1953 at
Trinity ChurchTrinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
in New York City. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and they had five children: Olivia,
Tessa, Theo,
OpheliaOphelia Magdalena Dahl is an Anglo-American social justice and health care advocate.As of January 2008, Dahl is the president and executive director of Partners In Health , a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the...
and
LucyLucy Dahl is a British screenwriter and daughter of Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal. She wrote the screenplay for Wild Child and served as a consultant to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on her father's book of the same name. She is also a content contributor to the online food and wine...
.
On 5 December 1960, four-month-old Theo Dahl was severely injured when his baby carriage was struck by a taxicab in New York City. For a time, he suffered from
hydrocephalusHydrocephalus , also known as "water in the brain," is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head,...
, and as a result, his father became involved in the development of what became known as the "
Wade-Dahl-TillThe Wade-Dahl-Till valve is a cerebral shunt developed in 1962 by hydraulic engineer Stanley Wade, author Roald Dahl and neurosurgeon Kenneth Till.In 1960, Dahl's son Theo developed hydrocephalus after being struck by a car...
" (or WDT) valve, a device to alleviate the condition.
In November 1962, Olivia Dahl died of
measles encephalitisSubacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare chronic, progressive encephalitis that affects primarily children and young adults, caused by a persistent infection of immune resistant measles virus . No cure for SSPE exists, but the condition can be managed by medication if treatment is started at...
at age seven. Dahl subsequently became a proponent of immunisation and dedicated his 1982 book
The BFG to his daughter.
In 1965, wife Patricia Neal suffered three burst
cerebral aneurysmA cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.- Signs and symptoms :...
s while pregnant with their fifth child, Lucy; Dahl took control of her rehabilitation and she eventually relearned to talk and walk, and even returned to her acting career, an episode in their lives which was dramatised in the film
The Patricia Neal Story, in which the couple were played by
Glenda JacksonGlenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
and
Dirk BogardeSir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
.
Dahl married Felicity "Liccy" Crosland at Brixton Town Hall,
South LondonSouth London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, following a divorce from Neal in 1983. Dahl and Crosland had previously been in a relationship. According to biographer Donald Sturrock, Liccy gave up her job and moved into 'Gipsy House',
Great MissendenGreat Missenden is a large village in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It closely adjoins the villages of Little Missenden and Prestwood. The narrow High Street is bypassed by the main A413 London to...
in
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, which had been Dahl's home since 1954.
In 1983, Dahl was quoted as saying: "There's a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity ... I mean there is always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason." Dahl stated that he was anti-Israel rather than anti-Semitic, and he maintained friendships with a number of Jews, including philosopher
Isaiah BerlinSir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
, who said, "I thought he might say anything. Could have been pro-Arab or pro-Jew. There was no consistent line."
Dahl is the father of author
Tessa Dahl, and grandfather of author, cookbook writer, and former model
Sophie DahlSophie Dahl , born Sophie Holloway, is an English author and former model. She was born in London, the daughter of actor Julian Holloway and writer Tessa Dahl. Her maternal grandparents were author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal. Her paternal grandparents were actor Stanley Holloway and...
(after whom Sophie in
The BFGThe BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
is named).
Death and legacy
Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990, at the age of 74 of a blood disease,
myelodysplastic syndromeThe myelodysplastic syndromes are a diverse collection of hematological medical conditions that involve ineffective production of the myeloid class of blood cells....
, in
OxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and was buried in the cemetery at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in
Great MissendenGreat Missenden is a large village in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It closely adjoins the villages of Little Missenden and Prestwood. The narrow High Street is bypassed by the main A413 London to...
, Buckinghamshire, England. According to his granddaughter, the family gave him a "sort of
Viking funeralBurial customs of Viking Age Norsemen are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas, Old Norse poetry, and notably from the account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan....
". He was buried with his snooker cues, some very good
burgundyBurgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...
, chocolates, HB pencils and a
power sawThe circular saw is a machine using a toothed metal cutting disc or blade. The term is also loosely used for the blade itself. The blade is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted. It can also be used to make narrow slots...
. In his honour, the
Roald Dahl Children's GalleryThe Roald Dahl Children's Gallery is in Church Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. A children's museum in honour of Roald Dahl, it was opened on 23 November 1996 by Terence Hardiman, an actor popular with children due to his role as the titular role in The Demon Headmaster...
was opened in November 1996, at the
Buckinghamshire County MuseumThe Buckinghamshire County Museum is a museum in the centre of Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, England. It displays artefacts pertinent to the history of Buckinghamshire including geological displays, costume, agriculture and industry...
in nearby
AylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
.
In 2002, one of
Cardiff BayCardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
's modern landmarks, the historic Oval Basin plaza, was re-christened "
Roald Dahl PlassRoald Dahl Plass is a public plaza in Cardiff Bay, part of Cardiff, Wales. It is named after Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, and is located on the coast along the south of the city centre. The square is home to the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, a performing arts centre...
". "Plass" means "place" or "square" in Norwegian, referring to the acclaimed late writer's Norwegian roots. There have also been calls from the public for a permanent statue of him to be erected in the city.
Dahl's charitable commitments in the fields of
neurologyNeurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
, haematology and
literacyLiteracy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
have been continued by his widow since his death, through Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity, formerly known as the Roald Dahl Foundation. In June 2005, the
Roald Dahl Museum and Story CentreThe Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is in the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England, which was the home of the children's and short story writer Roald Dahl for 36 years until his death in 1990....
opened in
Great MissendenGreat Missenden is a large village in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It closely adjoins the villages of Little Missenden and Prestwood. The narrow High Street is bypassed by the main A413 London to...
to celebrate the work of Roald Dahl and advance his work in literacy education.
In 2008, the UK charity Booktrust and
Children's LaureateChildren's Laureate is a position awarded in the UK once every two years to a distinguished writer or illustrator of children's books. A biannual bursary of £10,000 is offered...
Michael RosenMichael Wayne Rosen is a broadcaster, children's novelist and poet and the author of 140 books. He was appointed as the fifth Children's Laureate in June 2007, succeeding Jacqueline Wilson, and held this honour until 2009....
inaugurated
The Roald Dahl Funny Prize, an annual award to authors of humorous children's fiction. On 14 September 2009 (the day after what would have been Dahl's 93rd birthday) the first
blue plaqueA blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
in his honour was unveiled in
LlandaffLlandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, Cardiff, Wales. Rather than commemorating his place of birth, however, the plaque was erected on the wall of the former sweet shop (and site of "The Great Mouse Plot of 1924") that features in the first part of his autobiography
BoyBoy: Tales of Childhood is the first autobiographical book by British writer Roald Dahl. It describes his life from birth until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to...
. It was unveiled by his widow Felicity and son Theo.
In honour of Roald Dahl, Gibraltar Post issued a set of four stamps in 2010 featuring
Quentin BlakeQuentin Saxby Blake, CBE, FCSD, RDI, is an English cartoonist, illustrator and children's author, well-known for his collaborations with writer Roald Dahl.-Education:...
's original illustrations for four of the children's books written by Dahl during his long career;
The BFGThe BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
,
The TwitsThe Twits is a humorous children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was written in 1979, and first published in 1980....
,
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
and
MatildaMatilda is a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London, with illustrations by Quentin Blake. The story is about Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child with ordinary and rather unpleasant parents, who are contemptuous of their daughter's...
. Dahl's influence has extended beyond literary figures, and he connected with film director
Tim BurtonTimothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
with his "mixture of light and darkness, and not speaking down to kids, and the kind of politically incorrect humour that kids get". Regarded as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century", Dahl was listed as one of the greatest British writers since 1945. He ranks amongst the
world's best-selling fiction authors with sales estimated at over 100 million, and his books have been published in almost 50 languages. In 2003, the UK survey entitled
The Big Read carried out by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in order to find the "nation's best loved novel" of all time, four of Dahl's books were named in the Top 100, with only works by
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
and
Terry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
featuring more.
The anniversary of Dahl's birthday on 13 September is celebrated as "Roald Dahl Day" in Africa, the United Kingdom, and Latin America.
Writing
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with
C. S. ForesterCecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
, was "A Piece Of Cake" on 1 August 1942. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by
The Saturday Evening Post for US$1000 (a substantial sum in 1942) and published under the title "Shot Down Over Libya".
His first children's book was
The GremlinsThe Gremlins is a children's book, written by Roald Dahl and published in 1943. It was Dahl's first children's book, and was written for Walt Disney Productions, as a promotional device for a feature-length animated film that was never made...
, about mischievous little creatures that were part of
RAFThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
folklore. All the RAF pilots blamed the
gremlinA gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more...
s for all the problems with the plane. The book, which First Lady of the US
Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
read to her grandchildren, was commissioned by
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
,
MatildaMatilda is a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London, with illustrations by Quentin Blake. The story is about Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child with ordinary and rather unpleasant parents, who are contemptuous of their daughter's...
,
James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
,
The Witches,
Charlie and the Great Glass ElevatorCharlie and the Great Glass Elevator is a children's book by British author Roald Dahl. It is the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, continuing the story of young Charlie Bucket and eccentric candymaker Willy Wonka as they travel in the Great Glass Elevator.Charlie and the Great Glass...
,
The BFGThe BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
,
George's Marvellous Medicine and
Fantastic Mr Fox.
Dahl also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. The
Mystery Writers of AmericaMystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
presented Dahl with three Edgar Awards for his work, and many were originally written for American magazines such as
Collier'sCollier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
,
Ladies Home Journal,
Harper'sHarper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
,
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
and
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Works such as
Kiss KissKiss Kiss is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl, first published in 1960 by Alfred Knopf. Most of the constituent stories had been previously published elsewhere.It contains the following short stories:*"The Landlady"*"William and Mary"...
subsequently collected Dahl's stories into anthologies, gaining worldwide acclaim. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories; they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death (See
List of Roald Dahl short stories). His three Edgar Awards were given for: in 1954, the collection
Someone Like You; in 1959, the story "
The LandladyThe Landlady is a short story by Roald Dahl.-Plot summary:The story focuses on a young and bright man named Billy Weaver who has just stepped into the world of work. Arriving in Bath for a business trip, he looks for a place to stay, and is recommended to the Bell and Dragon...
"; and in 1980, the episode of
Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
based on "
SkinSkin is a macabre short story written by author Roald Dahl.It is featured in 'A Roald Dahl Selection', a compilation of several short stories by Dahl that has been edited by Roy Blatchford.-Plot summary:...
".
One of his more famous adult stories, "The Smoker" (also known as "
Man From the South"Man from the South" is a short story by Roald Dahl adapted several times for television and film, including a 1960 version starring Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre.-Plot synopsis:...
"), was filmed twice as both 1960 and 1985 episodes of
Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, and also adapted into
Quentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's segment of the 1995 film
Four RoomsFour Rooms is a 1995 portmanteau comedy film telling four stories set in a hotel in the US city of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth stars as the principal character of the frame tale; he also takes part to some degree in all four stories....
. This oft-anthologised classic concerns a man in Jamaica who wagers with visitors in an attempt to claim the fingers from their hands. The 1960 Hitchcock version stars Steve McQueen and
Peter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
.
His short story collection
Tales of the Unexpected was adapted to a successful
TV series of the same nameTales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
, beginning with "Man From the South". When the stock of Dahl's own original stories was exhausted, the series continued by adapting stories by authors that were written in Dahl's style, including the writers
John CollierJohn Henry Noyes Collier was a British-born author and screenplay writer best known for his short stories, many of which appeared in The New Yorker from the 1930s to the 1950s. They were collected in a 1951 volume, Fancies and Goodnights, which won the International Fantasy Award and remains in...
and
Stanley EllinStanley Bernard Ellin was an American mystery writer. Ellin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He garnered a love for reading at a young age with an interest in works by the likes of Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and Edgar Allan Poe. Ellin was educated at Brooklyn College and received a B.A. in 1936...
.
He acquired a traditional Romanichal
Gypsy wagonA vardo is a traditional horse-drawn wagon used by British Romani people .The design of the vardo included large wheels running outside the body of the van, which slopes outwards considerably towards the eaves...
in the 1960s, and the family used it as a playhouse for his children. He later used the
vardo as a writing room, where he wrote the book
Danny, the Champion of the WorldDanny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. The plot main centers on a young English boy, Danny, and his father, William, who live in a Gypsy vardo fixing cars for a living and partake in poaching pheasants. The story is based on Dahl's adult short story "Champion of...
.
A number of his short stories are supposed to be extracts from the diary of his (fictional) Uncle Oswald, a rich gentleman whose sexual exploits form the subject of these stories. In his novel
My Uncle OswaldMy Uncle Oswald is an adult novel written by Roald Dahl.The novel stars Uncle Oswald, a character who previously appeared in "The Visitor" and "Bitch", two short stories also written by Roald Dahl .In his 1980 review, Vance Bourjaily said Christopher Lehman-Haupt called it "a festival of bad taste...
, the uncle engages a temptress to seduce 20th century geniuses and royalty with a love potion secretly added to chocolate truffles made by Dahl's favourite chocolate shop,
PrestatPrestat Ltd is one of London's oldest chocolate shops. It has been awarded two Royal Warrants: from Her Majesty The Queen and Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.-History:Prestat Ltd was established in 1902 by French émigré Antoine Dufour...
of Piccadilly.
Memories with Food at Gipsy HouseMemories with Food at Gipsy House is a collection of anecdotes and recipes by Roald Dahl and his second wife, Felicity....
, written with his wife Felicity and published posthumously in 1991, was a mixture of recipes, family reminiscences and Dahl's musings on favourite subjects such as chocolate, onions, and claret.
Children's fiction
Dahl's children's works are usually told from the point of view of a child. They typically involve adult
villainA villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s who hate and mistreat children, and feature at least one "good" adult to counteract the villain(s). These stock characters are possibly a reference to the abuse that Dahl stated that he experienced in the
boarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s he attended. They usually contain a lot of
black humourA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
and grotesque scenarios, including gruesome violence.
The Witches,
George's Marvellous Medicine and
MatildaMatilda is a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London, with illustrations by Quentin Blake. The story is about Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child with ordinary and rather unpleasant parents, who are contemptuous of their daughter's...
are examples of this formula.
The BFGThe BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
follows it in a more analogous way with the good giant (the BFG or "Big Friendly Giant") representing the "good adult" archetype and the other giants being the "bad adults". This formula is also somewhat evident in Dahl's film script for
Chitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
. Class-conscious themes – ranging from the thinly veiled to the blatant – also surface in works such as
Fantastic Mr Fox and
Danny, the Champion of the WorldDanny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. The plot main centers on a young English boy, Danny, and his father, William, who live in a Gypsy vardo fixing cars for a living and partake in poaching pheasants. The story is based on Dahl's adult short story "Champion of...
.
Dahl also features in his books characters who are very fat, usually children. Augustus Gloop, Bruce Bogtrotter, and Bruno Jenkins are a few of these characters, although an enormous woman named Aunt Sponge is featured in
James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
and the nasty farmer Boggis in
Fantastic Mr Fox is an enormously fat character. All of these characters (with the possible exception of Bruce Bogtrotter) are either villains or simply unpleasant gluttons. They are usually punished for this: Augustus Gloop drinks from
Willy WonkaThis article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly...
's chocolate river, disregarding the adults who tell him not to, and falls in, getting sucked up a pipe and nearly being turned into fudge. Bruce Bogtrotter steals cake from the evil headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and is forced to eat a gigantic chocolate cake in front of the school. Bruno Jenkins is turned into a mouse by witches who lure him to their convention with the promise of chocolate, and, it is speculated, possibly disowned or even killed by his parents because of this. Aunt Sponge is flattened by a giant peach. Dahl's mother used to tell him and his sisters tales about trolls and other mythical Norwegian creatures and some of his children's books contain references or elements inspired by these stories, such as the giants in
The BFGThe BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
, the fox family in
Fantastic Mr Fox and the trolls in
The MinpinsThe Minpins is a book by Roald Dahl with illustrations by Patrick Benson. It was published in 1991, a few months after Dahl's death in November 1990, and it is believed to be the author's final contribution to literature after an illustrious career spanning almost half a century.-Synopsis:Little...
.
In his poetry, Dahl gives a humorous re-interpretation of well-known nursery rhymes and fairy tales, providing surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after. Dahl's collection of poems
Revolting RhymesRevolting Rhymes is a collection of Roald Dahl poems published in 1982. A parody of traditional folk tales in verse, Dahl gives a re-interpretation of six well-known fairy tales, featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after...
is recorded in
audio bookAn audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
form, and narrated by actor
Alan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
.
Screenplays
For a brief period in the 1960s, Dahl wrote screenplays. Two, the
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film
You Only Live TwiceYou Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
and
Chitty Chitty Bang BangChitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car is a children's book written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham...
, were adaptations of novels by
Ian FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, though both were rewritten and completed by other writers. Dahl created the
Child CatcherThe Child Catcher is the supporting antagonist of the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the later stage musical adaptation. The character was created by the film's screenwriter, Roald Dahl, and did not appear in the original Ian Fleming book...
, the supporting antagonist in
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and in a 2005 poll, it was voted the scariest villain in children's literature. Dahl also began adapting his own novel
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was completed and rewritten by
David SeltzerDavid Seltzer is an American screenwriter, producer and director, perhaps best known for writing The Omen , and Bird on a Wire , starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn...
after Dahl failed to meet deadlines, and produced as the film
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
(1971). Dahl later disowned the film, saying he was "disappointed" because "he thought it placed too much emphasis on Willy Wonka and not enough on Charlie". He was also "infuriated" by the deviations in the plot devised by David Seltzer in his draft of the screenplay. This resulted in his refusal for any more versions of the book to be made in his lifetime.
Influences
A major part of Dahl's literary influences stemmed from his childhood. In his younger days, he was an avid reader, especially awed by fantastic tales of heroism and triumph. Amongst his favourite authors were
Rudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
,
William Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
,
Frederick MarryatCaptain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...
and
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, and their works went on to make a lasting mark on his life and writing. Dahl was also a huge fan of ghost stories and claimed that
Trolls by
Jonas LieJonas Lauritz Idemil Lie was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright who is considered to have been one of the Four Greats of 19th century Norwegian literature, together with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Alexander Kielland.-Background:Jonas Lie was born at Hokksund in Øvre Eiker, in...
was one of the finest ghost stories ever written. While he was still a youngster, his mother, Sofie Dahl, would relate traditional Norwegian myths and legends from her native homeland to Dahl and his sisters. Dahl always maintained that his mother and her stories had a strong influence on his writing. In one interview, he mentioned: "She was a great teller of tales. Her memory was prodigious and nothing that ever happened to her in her life was forgotten." When Dahl started writing and publishing his famous books for children, he created a grandmother character in
The Witches and later stated that she was based directly on his own mother as a tribute.
Television
In 1961, Dahl hosted and wrote for a science fiction and horror television anthology series called
Way Out, which preceded the
Twilight Zone-Television series and spinoffs:*The Twilight Zone, the anthology television series and its franchise:**The Twilight Zone , the 1959–1964 original television series***Twilight Zone: The Movie, a 1983 film based on the original series...
series on the
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network for 14 episodes from March to July. Dahl's comedic monologues rounded off the episodes, frequently explaining exactly how to murder one's spouse without getting caught. In one introduction, Dahl ruminated about the popularity of the crewcut at the time and how it seemed to make some men feel tougher. The former fighter pilot dryly observed that "....it really doesn't help when the chips are down, though, does it?"
One of the last dramatic network shows shot in New York City, the entire series is available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles.
Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
is a British television series that originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. The series had been released to tie in with Dahl's
Tales of the UnexpectedRoald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected is a collection of sixteen short stories written by Roald Dahl and first published in 1979. All of the stories were earlier published in various magazines, and then in the collections Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss.-Contents:# "Taste"# "Lamb to the Slaughter"#...
, which had introduced readers to many motifs that were common in his writing.
The series was an anthology of different tales, initially based on Dahl's short stories. The stories were sometimes sinister, sometimes wryly comedic, and usually had a twist ending. Dahl introduced on camera all the episodes of the first two series, which bore the full title
Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected. Dahl also chose the stories not written by him to be adapted for the second series, and a small number of additional Dahl stories were adapted for the third series onwards following his departure.
Children's stories
- The Gremlins
The Gremlins is a children's book, written by Roald Dahl and published in 1943. It was Dahl's first children's book, and was written for Walt Disney Productions, as a promotional device for a feature-length animated film that was never made...
(1943)
- James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The original first edition published by Alfred Knopf featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. However, there have been various reillustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael...
(1961) – Film: James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
(live-action/animated) (1996)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
(1964) – Films: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
(1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryCharlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film adaptation of the 1964 book of the same name by Roald Dahl. The film was directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket and Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka...
(2005)
- The Magic Finger
The Magic Finger is a children's story published by Roald Dahl in 1966. Although the original edition had illustrations by William Pene du Bois, there have been later editions of the book with illustrations by Pat Mariott, Tony Ross, and Quentin Blake....
(1 June 1966)
- Fantastic Mr Fox (9 December 1970) – Film: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated film based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name. This story is about a fox who steals food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him, so they dig their way...
(animated) (2009)
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is a children's book by British author Roald Dahl. It is the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, continuing the story of young Charlie Bucket and eccentric candymaker Willy Wonka as they travel in the Great Glass Elevator.Charlie and the Great Glass...
(9 January 1972) A sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- Danny, the Champion of the World
Danny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's book by Roald Dahl. The plot main centers on a young English boy, Danny, and his father, William, who live in a Gypsy vardo fixing cars for a living and partake in poaching pheasants. The story is based on Dahl's adult short story "Champion of...
(30 October 1975) – Film: Danny the Champion of the World (TV movie) (1989)
- The Enormous Crocodile
-Synopsis:One day an enormous crocodile goes tramping through the forest telling all the animals he's going to eat children. The animals tell him that it's a horrible thing to do but he tries to use his tricks to eat the tasty children nonetheless. However, every time he tries, the animals of the...
(24 August 1978)
- The Twits
The Twits is a humorous children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was written in 1979, and first published in 1980....
(17 December 1980)
- George's Marvellous Medicine (21 May 1981)
- The BFG
The BFG is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, first published in 1982. The book was an expansion of a story told in Danny, the Champion of the World, an earlier Dahl book...
(14 October 1982) – Film: The BFGThe BFG is a 1989 animated film based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was first shown on Christmas Day 1989 on ITV1 in the UK.The film was dedicated to animator George Jackson who worked on numerous Cosgrove Hall Productions-Plot:...
(animated) (1989)
- The Witches (27 October 1983) – Film: The Witches (1990)
- The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
The Giraffe the Pelly and Me is a children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.-Synopsis:The story itself is loosely based around Billy, a young boy who has always dreamed of owning a sweet shop, especially since there is an abandoned one named The Grubber near where he...
(26 September 1985)
- Matilda
Matilda is a children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1988 by Jonathan Cape in London, with illustrations by Quentin Blake. The story is about Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child with ordinary and rather unpleasant parents, who are contemptuous of their daughter's...
(21 April 1988) – Film: Matilda (1996)
- Esio Trot
Esio Trot is a 1990 children's novel written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.- Story :Mr. Hoppy is a shy old man who lives alone in an apartment. For many years, he has been secretly in love with Mrs. Silver, a woman who lives below him. Mr. Hoppy frequently leans over his balcony...
(19 April 1989)
- The Vicar of Nibbleswicke
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke is a children's story written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was first published in London in 1991 by Jonathan Cape...
(9 May 1990)
- The Minpins
The Minpins is a book by Roald Dahl with illustrations by Patrick Benson. It was published in 1991, a few months after Dahl's death in November 1990, and it is believed to be the author's final contribution to literature after an illustrious career spanning almost half a century.-Synopsis:Little...
(8 August 1991)
Children's poetry
- Revolting Rhymes
Revolting Rhymes is a collection of Roald Dahl poems published in 1982. A parody of traditional folk tales in verse, Dahl gives a re-interpretation of six well-known fairy tales, featuring surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after...
(10 June 1982)
- Dirty Beasts
Dirty Beasts is a 1983 collection of Roald Dahl poems about unsuspecting animals. Intended as a follow-up to Revolting Rhymes, it was originally illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett. However, a revised edition was published with illustrations by Quentin Blake. An audio book version was also released in...
(25 October 1984)
- Rhyme Stew
Rhyme Stew is a collection of poems for children by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake. In a sense it's a more adult version of Revolting Rhymes....
(21 September 1989)
Adult fiction
Novels
- Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen
Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen is a novel by Roald Dahl, first published in the USA in 1948. The book was a commercial failure; however, it is noteworthy as the first book about nuclear war to be published in the United States after the bombing of Hiroshima. The UK edition appeared in 1949...
(1948)
- My Uncle Oswald
My Uncle Oswald is an adult novel written by Roald Dahl.The novel stars Uncle Oswald, a character who previously appeared in "The Visitor" and "Bitch", two short stories also written by Roald Dahl .In his 1980 review, Vance Bourjaily said Christopher Lehman-Haupt called it "a festival of bad taste...
(1979)
Short story collections
- Over To You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying
Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. It was published in 1946 by Reynal & Hitchcock....
(1946)
- Someone Like You
Someone Like You is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. It was published in 1953 by Alfred Knopf.-Contents:* "Dip in the Pool"* "Galloping Foxley"* "Lamb to the Slaughter"* "Man from the South"* "Mr. Feasey"* "Mr...
(1953)
- Lamb to the Slaughter
"Lamb to the Slaughter" is a short story by Roald Dahl. It was initially rejected, along with four other stories, by The New Yorker, but was ultimately published in Harper's Magazine in September 1953. It was adapted for an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and starred Barbara Bel Geddes...
(1953)
- Kiss Kiss
Kiss Kiss is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl, first published in 1960 by Alfred Knopf. Most of the constituent stories had been previously published elsewhere.It contains the following short stories:*"The Landlady"*"William and Mary"...
(1960)
- Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl
Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl is a 1969 short story collection for adults by Roald Dahl.The collection contains Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss , Dahl's second and third short story collections. These twenty-nine stories, written over a period of sixteen years, comprise the core of Dahl's...
(1969)
- Switch Bitch
Switch Bitch is a 1974 short story collection for adults by Roald Dahl. The book is made up of four stories: "The Visitor," "The Great Switcheroo," "The Last Act," and "Bitch"....
(1974)
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More is a collection of seven short stories written by Roald Dahl. They are generally regarded as being aimed for a slightly older audience than many of his other children's books....
(1977)
- The Best of Roald Dahl
The Best of Roald Dahl is a collection of 25 of Roald Dahl's short stories. The first edition was published 1978.-Contents:*Madame Rosette*Man from the South*The Sound Machine*Taste*Dip in the Pool*Skin*Edward the Conqueror*Lamb to the Slaughter...
(1978)
- Tales of the Unexpected
Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected is a collection of sixteen short stories written by Roald Dahl and first published in 1979. All of the stories were earlier published in various magazines, and then in the collections Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss.-Contents:# "Taste"# "Lamb to the Slaughter"#...
(1979)
- More Tales of the Unexpected
More Tales of the Unexpected is a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. It was published in 1980 by Penguin. Some of the stories were published in prior collections, but this is the first time the others were published in book form.-Stories:...
(1980)
- Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories
Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories is a 1983 collection of Ghost stories selected by Roald Dahl.Dahl read 749 supernatural tales from an array of ghost storytellers at the British Museum Library before selecting 14 that comprise this anthology. In the book Dahl writes; "Spookiness is, after all,...
(1983). Edited with an introduction by Dahl.
- The Roald Dahl Omnibus
The Roald Dahl Omnibus is a 1986 short story collection by Roald Dahl.The collection contains 28 stories selected from Switch Bitch, Kiss, Kiss, and Someone Like You - a collection of Dahl stories published in various magazines and collections from the 1940s onward....
(Dorset Press, 1986)
- Two Fables
Two Fables is a collection of two short stories by Roald Dahl, first published in 1986 by Penguin in London and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux in the USA.It contains the following two stories:*"Princess and the Poacher"*"Princess Mammalia"...
(1986). "Princess and the Poacher" and "Princess Mammalia".
- Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life: The Country Stories of Roald Dahl
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life: The Country Stories of Roald Dahl is a 1989 short story collection by Roald Dahl. The book is a collection of seven of Dahl's stories published in various magazines and collections in the 1940s and 1950s...
(1989)
- The Collected Short Stories of Dahl
The Collected Short Stories of Dahl is a 1991 short story collection for adults by Roald Dahl.The collection contains many of Dahl's stories seen in the television series Tales of the Unexpected...
(1991)
- The Roald Dahl Treasury
The Roald Dahl Treasury is an anthology of works of the children's author Roald Dahl. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1997 by Puffin Books....
(1997)
- The Great Automatic Grammatizator
"The Umbrella Man" redirects here. For other uses, see Umbrella Man .The Great Automatic Grammatizator is a collection of thirteen short stories written by British author Roald Dahl. The stories were selected for teenagers from Dahl's adult works...
(1997). (Known in the USA as The Umbrella Man and Other Stories).
- Skin And Other Stories
Skin and Other Stories is a collection of short stories written by Roald Dahl. It was published in 2000 by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Putnam Books...
(2000)
- Roald Dahl: Collected Stories
Roald Dahl: Collected Stories is a hardcover edition of short-stories by Roald Dahl for adults. It was published in the US in October 2006 by Random House as part of the Everyman Library. The present volume includes for the first time all the stories in chronological order as established by Dahl's...
(2006)
See the alphabetical
List of Roald Dahl short stories. See also
Roald Dahl: Collected StoriesRoald Dahl: Collected Stories is a hardcover edition of short-stories by Roald Dahl for adults. It was published in the US in October 2006 by Random House as part of the Everyman Library. The present volume includes for the first time all the stories in chronological order as established by Dahl's...
for a complete, chronological listing.
Non-fiction
- The Mildenhall Treasure
The Mildenhall Treasure is a non-fiction work by Roald Dahl.It tells the story of the discovery in 1946 near Mildenhall in Suffolk of the Mildenhall Treasure, now held in the British Museum....
(1946, 1977, 1999)
- Boy – Tales of Childhood
Boy: Tales of Childhood is the first autobiographical book by British writer Roald Dahl. It describes his life from birth until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to...
(1984) Recollections up to the age of 20, looking particularly at schooling in Britain in the early part of the 20th century.
- Going Solo
Going Solo is a memoir by Roald Dahl, first published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1986. It is a continuation of his autobiography describing his childhood, Boy. The Book starts with Roald Dahl on a boat heading towards Dar es Salaam for his new job working for Shell Oil...
(1986) Continuation of his autobiography, in which he goes to work for ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
and spends some time working in TanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
before joining the war effort and becoming one of the last Allied pilots to withdraw from Greece during the German invasion.
- Measles, a Dangerous Illness (1986)
- Memories with Food at Gipsy House
Memories with Food at Gipsy House is a collection of anecdotes and recipes by Roald Dahl and his second wife, Felicity....
(1991)
- Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety
Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety was published in 1991 by the British Railways Board. The British Railways Board had asked Roald Dahl to write the text of the booklet, and Quentin Blake to illustrate it, to help young people enjoy using the railways safely.The booklet is structured as a...
(1991)
- My Year
My Year is a book by Roald Dahl and was published in 1993. It contains some of Roald Dahl's most remarkable writing and is based on a diary he wrote during the final year of his life. In a month-by-month journey, he reflects on the past and present from many perspectives...
(1993)
- Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes by Felicity Dahl, et al. (1994), a collection of recipes based on and inspired by food in Dahl's books, created by Roald & Felicity Dahl, and Josie Fison
- Roald Dahl's Even More Revolting Recipes by Felicity Dahl, et al. (2001)
Plays
- The Honeys
The Honeys is a play written by Roald Dahl. It toured Boston, Philadelphia and New Haven before opening on Broadway on 28 April 1955. It starred Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, and Dorothy Stickney. Although it received some good notices, it ran for only 36 performances...
(1955) Produced at the Longacre Theater on Broadway.
Film scripts
- The Gremlins
The Gremlins is a children's book, written by Roald Dahl and published in 1943. It was Dahl's first children's book, and was written for Walt Disney Productions, as a promotional device for a feature-length animated film that was never made...
(1943)
- 36 Hours
36 Hours is a 1965 American suspense film, based on the short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl, starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor, and directed by George Seaton...
(1965)
- You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
(1967)
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
(1968)
- The Night Digger
The Night Digger is a 1971 British thriller film that was based on the novel Nest in a Fallen Tree by Joy Cowley. It was adapted by Roald Dahl and starred his wife Patricia Neal. The Night Digger was the American title; it was originally released in the United Kingdom as The Road Builder.-Cast:*...
(1971)
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
(1971)
Television
- Way Out (1961) Horror series hosted by Roald Dahl and produced by David Susskind
David Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.-Personal:...
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
: "Lamb to the Slaughter"Lamb to the Slaughter" is a short story by Roald Dahl. It was initially rejected, along with four other stories, by The New Yorker, but was ultimately published in Harper's Magazine in September 1953. It was adapted for an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and starred Barbara Bel Geddes...
" (1958)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Dip in the Pool
"Dip in the Pool" is a macabre short story by Roald Dahl that was originally published in the 19 January 1952 edition of The New Yorker. It later appeared in the 1953 collection Someone Like You.-Plot summary:...
" (1958)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Poison" (1958)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Man from the South
"Man from the South" is a short story by Roald Dahl adapted several times for television and film, including a 1960 version starring Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre.-Plot synopsis:...
" (1960) with Steve McQueen and Peter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat
"Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" is a story by Roald Dahl which first appeared in the 1959 issue of Nugget.-Alfred Hitchcock Presents Version:...
" (1960)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "The Landlady
The Landlady is a short story by Roald Dahl.-Plot summary:The story focuses on a young and bright man named Billy Weaver who has just stepped into the world of work. Arriving in Bath for a business trip, he looks for a place to stay, and is recommended to the Bell and Dragon...
" (1961)
- Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
(1979–1988), episodes written and introduced by Dahl
Sources
- Philip Howard, "Dahl, Roald (1916–1990)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/39827 accessed 24 May 2006
- Donald Sturrock, Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl, Harper Press, 2010. ISBN 9880007254767 (See the link to excerpts in "External Links", below.)
External links