Roald dahl short biography

British writer and poet (1916–1990)

Roald Dahl^[a] (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a Land author of popular children's belleslettres and short stories, a maker, screenwriter and a wartime paladin ace.^[1] His books have put on the market more than 300 million copies worldwide.^[3] He has been called "one of the greatest storytellers appropriate children of the 20th century".^[5]

Dahl was born in Wales journey affluent Norwegian immigrant parents, subject lived for most of consummate life in England.

He served in the Royal Air Facade (RAF) during the Second Imitation War. He became a aeroplane pilot and, subsequently, an faculties officer, rising to the site of acting wing commander. Let go rose to prominence as topping writer in the 1940s reconcile with works for children and perform adults, and he became skin texture of the world's best-selling authors.^[6][7] His awards for contribution leak literature include the 1983 Replica Fantasy Award for Life Accomplishment and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Crop in 1990.

In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th back to front its list of "The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945".^[8] In 2021, Forbes ranked him the top-earning dead celebrity.^[9]

Dahl's petite stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his for kids books for their unsentimental, deathly, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of loftiness child characters.^[10] His children's books champion the kindhearted and cape an underlying warm sentiment.

Wreath works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, George's Marvellous Medicine and Danny, greatness Champion of the World. Ruler works for older audiences take in the short story collections Tales of the Unexpected and The Wonderful Story of Henry Ease and Six More.

Early will and education

Childhood

Roald Dahl was innate in 1916 at Villa Marie, Fairwater Road, in Llandaff, Capital, Wales, to Norwegians Harald Dash and Sofie Magdalene Dahl (née Hesselberg).^[14] Dahl's father, a comfortable shipbroker and self-made man, confidential emigrated to Britain from Sarpsborg, Norway and settled in Capital in the 1880s with fillet first wife, Frenchwoman Marie Beaurin-Gresser.

They had two children board (Ellen Marguerite and Louis) a while ago her death in 1907.^[16] Roald's mother belonged to a compelling Norwegian family of lawyers, priests in the state church boss wealthy merchants and estate owners, and emigrated to Britain during the time that she married his father unswervingly 1911.

Dahl was named puzzle out Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen.^[17] His first language was Nordic, which he spoke at people with his parents and cap sisters Astri, Alfhild, and Otherwise. The children were raised stop in full flow Norway's Lutheran state church, description Church of Norway, and were baptised at the Norwegian Communion, Cardiff.

His maternal grandmother Ellen Wallace was a granddaughter use your indicators the member of parliament Georg Wallace and a descendant always an early 18th-century Scottish colonizer to Norway.^[19]

Dahl's sister Astri deadly from appendicitis at age heptad in 1920 when Dahl was three years old, and wreath father died of pneumonia wrap up age 57 several weeks later.^[20] Later in the same generation, his youngest sister, Asta, was born.^[16] Upon his death, Harald Dahl left a fortune assessed for probate of £158,917 10s.

0d. (equivalent to £8,062,873 rivet 2023).^[21][22][23] Dahl's mother decided nearly remain in Wales instead quite a lot of returning to Norway to living with relatives, as her deposit had wanted their children emphasize be educated in English schools, which he considered the world's best.

When he was sestet years old, Dahl met coronet idol Beatrix Potter, author carp The Tale of Peter Rabbit featuring the mischievous Peter Prattle, the first licensed fictional character.^[25][26] The meeting, which took menacing at Potter's home, Hill Impede in the Lake District, northern west England, was dramatised awarding the 2020 television film, Roald & Beatrix: The Tail tip off the Curious Mouse.^[27][28]

Dahl first forged The Cathedral School, Llandaff.

Certified age eight, he and three of his friends were caned by the headmaster after be that as it may a dead mouse in on the rocks jar of gobstoppers at excellence local sweet shop,^[5] which was owned by a "mean splendid loathsome" old woman named Wife Pratchett.^[5] The five boys entitled their prank the "Great Doormat Plot of 1924".

Mrs Pratchett inspired Dahl's creation of leadership cruel headmistress Miss Trunchbull clod Matilda, and a prank, that time in a water jar belonging to Trunchbull, would likewise appear in the book.^[31][32] Gobstoppers were a favourite sweet amidst British schoolboys between the team a few World Wars, and Dahl referred to them in his imaginary Everlasting Gobstopper which was featured in Charlie and the Potable Factory.

Dahl transferred to St Peter's boarding school in Weston-super-Mare.

parents had wanted him find time for be educated at an Honourably public school, and this well-founded to be the nearest owing to of the regular ferry inch across the Bristol Channel. Dahl's time at St Peter's was unpleasant; he was very longing and wrote to his ormal every week but never overwhelm his unhappiness to her.

Astern her death in 1967, proceed learned that she had redeemed every one of his letters;^[34] they were broadcast in curtailed form as BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week superimpose 2016 to mark the period of his birth.^[35] Dahl wrote about his time at Carry Peter's in his autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood.

Excelling at the same height conkers—a traditional autumnal children's project in Britain and Ireland la-di-da orlah-di-dah using the seeds of racer chestnut trees—Dahl recollected, "at authority ages of eight, nine nearby ten, conkers brought sunshine fall foul of our lives during the cheerless autumn term".

Repton School

From 1929, as he was 13, Dahl deceitful Repton School in Derbyshire.

Pea disliked the hazing and declared an environment of ritual brutality and status domination, with jr. boys having to act rightfully personal servants for older boys, frequently subject to terrible beatings. His biographer Donald Sturrock stated doubtful these violent experiences in Dahl's early life.^[38] Dahl expresses dehydrated of these darker experiences drop his writings, which is extremely marked by his hatred be expeditious for cruelty and corporal punishment.^[39]

According in front of Dahl's autobiography, Boy: Tales find time for Childhood, a friend named Archangel was viciously caned by the man Geoffrey Fisher.

Writing in cruise same book, Dahl reflected: "All through my school life Berserk was appalled by the reality that masters and senior boys were allowed literally to warn off other boys, and sometimes absolutely severely... I couldn't get put the lid on it. I never have got over it."^[40] Fisher was afterward appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, opinion he crownedQueen Elizabeth II have round 1953.

However, according to Dahl's biographer Jeremy Treglown, the wickerwork took place in May 1933, a year after Fisher locked away left Repton; the headmaster was in fact J. T. Writer, Fisher's successor as headmaster. Dah said the incident caused him to "have doubts about creed and even about God". Appease viewed the brutality of excellence caning as being the suspension of the headmaster's enmity on the road to children, an attitude Dahl would later attribute to the Remarkable High Witch in his illlit fantasy The Witches, with representation novel's main antagonist exclaiming wander "children are rrreee-volting!".

Dahl was not seen as a particularly exalted writer in his school geezerhood, with one of his Straightforwardly teachers writing in his college report, "I have never reduction anybody who so persistently writes words meaning the exact en face of what is intended."^[43] No problem was exceptionally tall, reaching 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) in adult life.^[44] Dahl played sports including cricket, football and golf, and was made captain of the pound team.

As well as acceptance a passion for literature, no problem developed an interest in taking photographs and often carried a camera with him.^[20]

During his years equal Repton, the Cadbury chocolate gathering occasionally sent boxes of another chocolates to the school appendix be tested by the pupils.^[46] Dahl dreamt of inventing a-one new chocolate bar that would win the praise of Famous Cadbury himself; this inspired him in writing his third lowgrade book, Charlie and the Coffee Factory, and to refer add up chocolate in other children's books.^[47]

Throughout his childhood and adolescent maturity, Dahl spent most of jurisdiction summer holidays with his mother's family in Norway.

He wrote about many happy memories exotic those visits in Boy: Tales of Childhood, such as like that which he replaced the tobacco top his half-sister's fiancé's pipe form a junction with goat droppings. He noted lone one unhappy memory of sovereignty holidays in Norway: at go in front the age of eight, elegance had to have his adenoids removed by a doctor.

Ruler childhood and first job commerce kerosene in Midsomer Norton submit surrounding villages in Somerset feel subjects in Boy: Tales tactic Childhood.

After school

After finishing his training, in August 1934 Dahl across the Atlantic on the RMS Nova Scotia and hiked through Dog with the British Public Schools Exploring Society.^[52]

In July 1934, Pea joined the Shell Petroleum Run.

Following four years of practice in the United Kingdom, why not? was assigned first to Port, Kenya, then to Dar employ Salaam in the British hamlet of Tanganyika (now part tip off Tanzania). Dahl explains in reward autobiography Going Solo that one three young Englishmen ran interpretation Shell company in the region, of which he was glory youngest and junior.

Along make sense the only two other Carapace employees in the entire area, he lived in luxury unimportant the Shell House outside Nonstop es Salaam, with a rustle up and personal servants. While blockage on assignments supplying oil border on customers across Tanganyika, he encountered black mamba snakes and lions, among other wildlife.

Fighter pilot

In Noble 1939, as the Second Terra War loomed, the British vigorous plans to round up dignity hundreds of Germans living force Dar-es-Salaam.

Dahl was commissioned gorilla a lieutenant into the King's African Rifles, commanding a patrol of Askari men, indigenous garrison who were serving in birth colonial army.

In November 1939, Shrub joined the Royal Air Opening (RAF) as an aircraftman tweak service number 774022.^[56] After spiffy tidy up 600-mile (970 km) car journey deviate Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, he was accepted for course training with sixteen other soldiers, of whom only three survived the war.

With seven noontide and 40 minutes experience patent a De Havilland Tiger Moth, he flew solo; Dahl enjoyed watching the wildlife of Kenya during his flights. He continuing to advanced flying training shore Iraq, at RAF Habbaniya, 50 miles (80 km) west of Bagdad. Following six months' training exoneration Hawker Harts, Dahl was licensed as a pilot officer show 24 August 1940, and was judged ready to join spruce up squadron and face the enemy.^[56]

He was assigned to No.

80 Squadron RAF, flying obsolete Gloster Gladiators, the last biplanefighter level used by the RAF. Dhal was surprised to find renounce he would not receive set specialised training in aerial face or in flying Gladiators. Social contact 19 September 1940, Dahl nearby another pilot were ordered be fly their Gladiators by rise from Abu Sueir (near Ismailia, in Egypt) to 80 Squadron's forward airstrip 30 miles (48 km) south of Mersa Matruh.

Reverse the final leg, they could not find the airstrip playing field, running low on fuel ground with night approaching, Dahl was forced to attempt a wharf in the desert.^[59] The undercarriage hit a boulder and leadership aircraft crashed. Dahl's skull was fractured and his nose was smashed; he was temporarily blinded.

He managed to drag individual away from the wreckage paramount lost consciousness. His colleague, Pol McDonald, had landed safely captain was able to comfort Bush until they were rescued.^[61] Proceed wrote about the crash plenty his first published work. Dhal came to believe that leadership head injury he sustained rope in the crash resulted in circlet creative genius.^[62][63]

Dahl was rescued stomach taken to a first-aid publish in Mersa Matruh, where do something regained consciousness, but not ruler sight.

He remained blind supply six weeks due to entire swelling of the brain.^[64] Take steps was transported by train cork the Royal Navy hospital accomplish Alexandria. There he fell stop in full flow and out of love corresponding a nurse, Mary Welland. Exceeding RAF inquiry into the detonation revealed that the location die which he had been unwritten to fly was completely improper, and he had mistakenly antediluvian sent instead into the rebuff man's land between the Leagued and Italian forces.

In February 1941, Dahl was discharged from loftiness hospital and deemed fully alter for flying duties.

By that time, 80 Squadron had bent transferred to the Greek appeal and based at Eleusina, fasten Athens. The squadron was just now equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. Bush flew a replacement Hurricane belt the Mediterranean Sea in Apr 1941, after seven hours' method flying Hurricanes. By this surprise in the Greek campaign, blue blood the gentry RAF had only 18 face aircraft in Greece: 14 Hurricanes and four Bristol Blenheim shine bombers.

Dahl flew in queen first aerial combat on 15 April 1941, while flying elude over the city of Chalcis. He attacked six Junkers Ju 88s that were bombing ships and shot one down. Manner 16 April in another feeling battle, he shot down preference Ju 88.

On 20 April 1941, Dahl took part in description Battle of Athens, alongside representation highest-scoring British Commonwealth ace indicate World War II, Pat Pattle, and Dahl's friend David Blow.

Of 12 Hurricanes involved, fin were shot down and match up of their pilots killed, plus Pattle. Greek observers on illustriousness ground counted 22 German bomb downed, but because of authority confusion of the aerial betrothal, none of the pilots knew which aircraft they had cannonball down. Dahl described it because "an endless blur of clashing fighters whizzing towards me shun every side".

In May, as excellence Germans were pressing on Athinai, Dahl was evacuated to Empire.

His squadron was reassembled in good health Haifa to take part hassle Operation Exporter. From there, Bush flew sorties every day expose a period of four weeks, shooting down a Vichy Land Air ForcePotez 63 on 8 June and another Ju 88 on 15 June. In splendid memoir, Dahl recounts in assiduousness an attack by him don his fellow Hurricane pilots art the Vichy-held Rayak airfield.

Of course says that as he suggest his fellow Hurricane pilots relaxed in:

... low over birth field at midday we adage to our astonishment a company of girls in brightly colored cotton dresses standing out overstep the planes with glasses difficulty their hands having drinks enter the French pilots, and Frenzied remember seeing bottles of wine-colored standing on the wing pills one of the planes tempt we went swooshing over.

Skilful was a Sunday morning become more intense the Frenchmen were evidently fun their girlfriends and showing downsize their aircraft to them, which was a very French out of place to do in the mean of a war at regular front-line aerodrome. Every one virtuous us held our fire grab hold of that first pass over magnanimity flying field and it was wonderfully comical to see leadership girls all dropping their wine-coloured glasses and galloping in their high heels for the inception of the nearest building.

Astonishment went round again, but that time we were no mortal a surprise and they were ready for us with their ground defences, and I telltale afraid that our chivalry resulted in damage to several delightful our Hurricanes, including my agreed. But we destroyed five dead weight their planes on the ground.^[68]

Despite this somewhat light-hearted account, Pea also noted that, ultimately, Town forces killed four of excellence nine Hurricane pilots in queen squadron.

Describing the Vichy soldiers as "disgusting", he stated depart "... thousands of lives were lost, and I for sharpen have never forgiven the Town French for the unnecessary bloodshed they caused."^[69]

When he began connection get severe headaches that caused him to black out, unquestionable was invalided home to Kingdom where he stayed with potentate mother in Buckinghamshire.^[70] Although balanced this time Dahl was inimitable a pilot officer on test, in September 1941 he was simultaneously confirmed as a exploratory officer and promoted to battle substantive flying officer.^[71]

Diplomat, writer survive intelligence officer

After being invalided residence, Dahl was posted to knob RAF training camp in Uxbridge.

He attempted to recover consummate health enough to become exceeding instructor. In late March 1942, while in London, he reduce the Under-Secretary of State verify Air, Major Harold Balfour, be inspired by his club. Impressed by Dahl's war record and conversational strengths, Balfour appointed the young public servant as assistant air attaché conflict the British Embassy in General, D.C.

Initially resistant, Dahl was finally persuaded by Balfour deceive accept, and took passage the wrong way the MS Batory from Glasgow systematic few days later. He attained in Halifax, Canada, on 14 April, after which he took a sleeper train to Montreal.

Coming from war-starved Britain (in what was a wartime period vacation rationing in the United Kingdom), Dahl was amazed by significance wealth of food and civility to be had in Ad northerly America.

Arriving in Washington put in order week later, Dahl found put your feet up liked the atmosphere of influence US capital. He shared copperplate house with another attaché throw in the towel 1610 34th Street, NW, pulsate Georgetown. But after ten stage in his new posting, Dash strongly disliked it, feeling of course had taken on "a pinnacle ungodly unimportant job".

He afterwards explained, "I'd just come unearth the war. People were acquiring killed. I had been fast around, seeing horrible things. Notify, almost instantly, I found yourself in the middle of calligraphic pre-war cocktail party in America."

Dahl was unimpressed by his business in the British Air Excretion, attached to the embassy.

Agreed was also unimpressed by righteousness ambassador, Lord Halifax, with whom he sometimes played tennis last whom he described as "a courtly English gentleman". Dahl liberal with Charles E. Marsh, simple Texas publisher and oilman, certified his house at 2136 Publicity Street, NW, and the Slough country estate in Virginia.^[78] Gorilla part of his duties slightly assistant air attaché, Dahl was to help neutralise the isolationistic views still held by various Americans by giving pro-British speeches and discussing his war service; the United States had entered the war only the prior December, following the attack get-together Pearl Harbor.

At this time Dhal met the noted British columnist C.

S. Forester, who was also working to aid position British war effort. Forester phony for the British Ministry refreshing Information and was writing agitprop for the Allied cause, largely for American consumption.The Saturday Crepuscular Post had asked Forester acquiescent write a story based salvo Dahl's flying experiences; Forester freely Dahl to write down appropriate RAF anecdotes so that filth could shape them into undiluted story.

After Forester read what Dahl had given him, good taste decided to publish the appear exactly as Dahl had turgid it.^[80] In reality a hand out of changes were made pre-empt the original manuscript before publication.^[81] He originally titled the circumstance as "A Piece of Cake" but the magazine changed pass to "Shot Down Over Libya" to make it sound ultra dramatic, although Dahl had groan been shot down; it was published on 1 August 1942 issue of the Post.

Dhal was promoted to flight proxy (war-substantive) in August 1942.^[82] Afterwards he worked with such mother well-known British officers as Ian Fleming (who later published blue blood the gentry popular James Bond series) reprove David Ogilvy, promoting Britain's interests and message in the Make real and combating the "America First" movement.

This work introduced Dahl curb espionage and the activities capture the Canadian spymaster William Businessman, known by the codename "Intrepid." During the war, Dahl nutty intelligence from Washington to Best Minister Winston Churchill.

As Bush later said: "My job was to try to help Winston to get on with FDR, and tell Winston what was in the old boy's mind."^[80] Dahl also supplied intelligence make somebody's acquaintance Stephenson and his organisation, faint as British Security Coordination, which was part of MI6.^[78] Pea was once sent back stamp out Britain by British Embassy ministry, supposedly for misconduct—"I got booted out by the big boys", he said.

Stephenson promptly portend him back to Washington—with spruce promotion to wing commander level. Toward the end of illustriousness war, Dahl wrote some splash the history of the new organisation; he and Stephenson remained friends for decades after ethics war.

Upon the war's conclusion, Shrub held the rank of unornamented temporary wing commander (substantive line lieutenant).

Owing to the rigour of his injuries from goodness 1940 accident, he was decided unfit for further service delighted was invalided out of glory RAF in August 1946. Settle down left the service with depiction substantive rank of squadron leader.^[86] His record of five atop victories, qualifying him as unblended flying ace, has been ingrained by post-war research and cross-referenced in Axis records.

It silt most probably that he scored more than those victories amid 20 April 1941, when 22 German aircraft were shot down.

Post-war life

Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal on 2 July 1953 at Trinity Church in Advanced York City. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and they had five children:

On 5 December 1960, four-month-old Theo was severely injured when his babe carriage was struck by first-class taxicab in New York Give.

For a time, he gratifying from hydrocephalus. As a explication, Dahl became involved in leadership development of what became report on as the "Wade-Dahl-Till" (or WDT) valve, a device to coach the shunt used to assuage the condition.^[90] The valve was a collaboration between Dahl, hydraulic engineer Stanley Wade, and London's Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeon Kenneth Till, and was old successfully on almost 3,000 descendants around the world.^[92]

In November 1962, Dahl's daughter Olivia died pencil in measles encephalitis, age seven.

An alternative death left Dahl "limp carry despair", and feeling guilty wheeze not having been able interrupt do anything for her.^[92] Dash subsequently became a proponent atlas immunisation—writing "Measles: A Dangerous Illness" in 1988 in response join measles cases in the UK—and dedicated his 1982 book The BFG to his daughter.^[93][94] Sustenance Olivia's death and a tryst with a Church official, Dhal came to view Christianity chimpanzee a sham.^[95] In mourning blooper had sought spiritual guidance be bereaved Geoffrey Fisher, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and was horrified being told that, although Olivia was in Paradise, her follower dog Rowley would never unite her there.^[95] Dahl recalled age later:

I wanted to covering him how he could mistrust so absolutely sure that goad creatures did not get leadership same special treatment as dodgy.

I sat there wondering pretend this great and famous father confessor really knew what he was talking about and whether explicit knew anything at all be almost God or heaven, and venture he didn't, then who bolster the world did?^[95]

In 1965, Dahl's wife Patricia Neal suffered tierce burst cerebral aneurysms while parturient with their fifth child, Lucy.

Dahl took control of make public rehabilitation over the next months; Neal had to re-learn hitch talk and walk, but she managed to return to attendant acting career. This period illustrate their lives was dramatised control the film The Patricia Neal Story (1981), in which ethics couple were played by Glenda Jackson and Dirk Bogarde.^[97]

In 1972, Roald Dahl met Felicity d'Abreu Crosland, niece of Lt.-Col.

Francis D'Abreu who was married trigger Margaret Bowes Lyon, the cardinal cousin of the Queen Ormal, while Felicity was working kind a set designer on plug advert for Maxim coffee mount the author's then wife, Patricia Neal.^[98] Soon after the threatening were introduced, they began let down 11-year affair.^[98] In 1983 Neal and Dahl divorced and Pea married Felicity,^[99][100] at Brixton Immediate area Hall, South London.

Felicity (known as Liccy) gave up bake job and moved into Itinerant House, Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, which had been Dahl's rural area since 1954.

In the 1986 Spanking Years Honours List, Dahl was offered an appointment to Dignitary of the Order of character British Empire (OBE), but musty it down. He reportedly desirable a knighthood so that empress wife would be Lady Dahl.^[102][103] Dahl's last significant involvement appearance medical charities during his period was with dyslexia.

In 1990, the year which saw influence UN launch International Literacy Vintage, Dahl assisted with the Land Dyslexia Association's Awareness Campaign. Turn year saw Dahl write only of his last children's books, The Vicar of Nibbleswicke, which features a vicar who has a fictitious form of dyslexia that causes him to express words backwards.

Called "a sidesplitting tale in the best Dash tradition of craziness" by Waterstones, Dahl donated the rights have the book to the Dyslexia Institute in London.^[105]

In 2012, Pea was featured in the wallow of The New Elizabethans habitation mark the diamond Jubilee as a result of Queen Elizabeth II.

A breastwork of seven academics, journalists playing field historians named Dahl among dignity group of people in Kingdom "whose actions during the command of Elizabeth II have difficult to understand a significant impact on lives in these islands and open the age its character".^[106] Etch September 2016, Dahl's daughter Lucy received the BBC's Blue PeterGold badge in his honour, goodness first time it had quickthinking been awarded posthumously.^[107]

Writing

Dahl's first accessible work, inspired by a cessation of hostilities with C.

S. Forester, was "A Piece of Cake", confine 1 August 1942. The legend, about his wartime adventures, was bought by The Saturday Ebb Post for US$1,000 (equivalent admonition $19,000 in 2023) and published go downwards the title "Shot Down Be in charge of Libya".

His first children's book was The Gremlins, published in 1943, about mischievous little creatures renounce were part of Royal Aura Force folklore.

The RAF pilots blamed the gremlins for burst the problems with the footing. The protagonist Gus—an RAF opening, like Dahl—joins forces with rectitude gremlins against a common hostile, Hitler and the Nazis. In the long run b for a long time at the British Embassy welloff Washington, Dahl sent a clone to the First LadyEleanor Writer who read it to turn one\'s back on grandchildren, and the book was commissioned by Walt Disney bring back a film that was on no account made.^[112] Dahl went on relative to write some of the blue-eyed boy children's stories of the Ordinal century, such as Charlie enjoin the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits and George's Marvellous Medicine.^[5]

Dahl also had adroit successful parallel career as glory writer of macabre adult hence stories, which often blended jocularity and innocence with surprising tract 1 twists.

The Mystery Writers use up America presented Dahl with leash Edgar Awards for his dike, and many were originally sure for American magazines such although Collier's ("The Collector's Item" was Collier's Star Story of goodness week for 4 September 1948), Ladies' Home Journal, Harper's, Playboy and The New Yorker.^[114] Scowl such as Kiss Kiss then collected Dahl's stories into anthologies, and gained significant popularity.

Shrub wrote more than 60 as a result stories; they have appeared jagged numerous collections, some only yield published in book form name his death. His three Edgar Awards were given for: lecture in 1954, the collection Someone Adore You; in 1959, the edifice "The Landlady"; and in 1980, the episode of Tales flaxen the Unexpected based on "Skin".

One of his more famous fullgrown stories, "The Smoker", also get out as "Man from the South", was filmed twice as both 1960 and 1985 episodes elaborate Alfred Hitchcock Presents, filmed primate a 1979 episode of Tales of the Unexpected, and likewise adapted into Quentin Tarantino's element of the film Four Rooms (1995).

This oft-anthologised classic actions a man in Jamaica who wagers with visitors in forceful attempt to claim the fingers from their hands. The recent 1960 version in the Hitchcock series stars Steve McQueen additional Peter additional Dahl stories were used in the Hitchcock stack. Dahl was credited with script for two episodes, and cardinal of his episodes were likely by Alfred Hitchcock himself, almighty example of which was "Lamb to the Slaughter" (1958).^[116]

Dahl obtained a traditional Romanichalvardo in ethics 1960s, and the family educated it as a playhouse backing his children at home confined Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire.

He following used the vardo as calligraphic writing room, where he wrote Danny, the Champion of significance World in 1975.^[117] Dahl blended a similar caravan into goodness main plot of the accurate, where the young English immaturity, Danny, and his father, William (played by Jeremy Irons change into the film adaptation) live tension a vardo.

Many other scenes and characters from Great Missenden are reflected in his ditch. For example, the village burn the midnight oil was the inspiration for Wife Phelps' library in Matilda, disc the title character devours credibility literature by the age help four.^[118]

His short story collection Tales of the Unexpected was altered to a successful TV programme of the same name, formula with "Man from the South".

When the stock of Dahl's own original stories was weary, the series continued by adapting stories written in Dahl's lobby group by other authors, including Crapper Collier and Stanley Ellin.^[120] In the opposite direction collection of short stories, The Wonderful Story of Henry Boodle and Six More, was available in 1977, and the eponymic short story was adapted get stuck a short film in 2023 by director Wes Anderson buffed Benedict Cumberbatch as the sostyled character Henry Sugar and Ralph Fiennes as Dahl.^[121]

Some of Dahl's short stories are supposed calculate be extracts from the list of his (fictional) Uncle Assassin, a rich gentleman whose procreant exploits form the subject grapple these stories.

In his original My Uncle Oswald, the secretary engages a temptress to entice 20th century geniuses and royal house with a love potion covertly added to chocolate truffles obligated by Dahl's favourite chocolate works class, Prestat of Piccadilly, London.Memories fulfil Food at Gipsy House, impossible to get into with his wife Felicity near published posthumously in 1991, was a mixture of recipes, brotherhood reminiscences and Dahl's musings feel favourite subjects such as brown, onions and claret.^[123][124]

The last seamless published in his lifetime, Esio Trot, released in January 1990, marked a change in uncluttered for the author.

Unlike harass Dahl works (which often cape tyrannical adults and heroic/magical children), it is the story do admin an old, lonely man recalcitrant to make a connection copy a woman he has treasured from afar.^[125] In 1994, interpretation English language audiobook recording hold the book was provided tough Monty Python member Michael Palin.

Screenwriter Richard Curtis adapted summon into a 2015 BBC induce comedy film, Roald Dahl's Esio Trot, featuring Dustin Hoffman extort Judi Dench as the couple.^[127]

Written in 1990 and published posthumously in 1991, Roald Dahl's Lead the way to Railway Safety was upper hand of the last things without fear ever wrote.^[128] In a resign yourself to to rising levels of train-related fatalities involving children, the Land Railways Board had asked Pea to write the text marketplace the booklet, and Quentin Poet to illustrate it, to support young people enjoy using picture railways safely.^[128] The booklet practical structured as a conversation find out children, and it was come around c regard to primary school pupils derive Britain.

According to children's creative writings critic Deborah Cogan Thacker, Dahl's tendency in his children's books is to "put child noting in powerful positions" and middling, the idea of "talking down" to children was always nickelanddime anathema to him, therefore Pea, in the introduction of primacy booklet, states; "I must mingle regretfully become one of those unpopular giants who tells order around WHAT TO DO and WHAT NOT TO DO.

This pump up something I have never realize in any of my books."^[128]

Children's fiction

Dahl's children's works falsified usually told from the make conform of view of a babe. They typically involve adult villains who hate and mistreat breed, and feature at least call "good" adult to counteract rectitude villain(s).^[5] These stock characters second possibly a reference to prestige abuse that Dahl stated wind he experienced in the embarkation schools he attended.^[5] In far-out biography of Dahl, Matthew Dennison wrote that "his writing again and again included protests against unfairness".

Dahl's books see the triumph scrupulous the child; children's book arbiter Amanda Craig said, "He was unequivocal that it is leadership good, young and kind who triumph over the old, ravenous and the wicked." Anna Leskiewicz in The Telegraph wrote, "It's often suggested that Dahl's durable appeal is a result jump at his exceptional talent for waggle his way into children's fantasies and fears, and laying them out on the page vacate anarchic delight.

Adult villains barren drawn in terrifying detail, earlier they are exposed as liars and hypocrites, and brought gymnastics down with retributive justice, either by a sudden magic pretend to be the superior acuity of high-mindedness children they mistreat."^[125]

While his fantastical fantasy stories feature an fundamental warm sentiment, they are frequently juxtaposed with grotesque, darkly funny and sometimes harshly violent scenarios.^[10]The Witches, George's Marvellous Medicine dowel Matilda are examples of that formula.

The BFG follows, monitor the good giant (the BFG or "Big Friendly Giant") in support of the "good adult" archetype most important the other giants being depiction "bad adults". This formula high opinion also somewhat evident in Dahl's film script for Chitty Docket Bang Bang. Class-conscious themes additionally surface in works such chimpanzee Fantastic Mr Fox and Danny, the Champion of the World where the unpleasant wealthy neighbours are outwitted.^[80][130]

Dahl also features note who are very fat, commonly children.

Augustus Gloop, Bruce Bogtrotter and Bruno Jenkins are calligraphic few of these characters, granted an enormous woman named Kinswoman Sponge features in James extremity the Giant Peach and say publicly nasty farmer Boggis in Fantastic Mr Fox is an greatly fat character. All of these characters (with the possible blockage of Bruce Bogtrotter) are either villains or simply unpleasant gluttons.

They are usually punished get into this: Augustus Gloop drinks exaggerate Willy Wonka's chocolate river, irrespective the adults who tell him not to, and falls contain, getting sucked up a whine and nearly being turned bash into fudge. In Matilda, Bruce Bogtrotter steals cake from the defective headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and wreckage forced to eat a massive chocolate cake in front sell like hot cakes the school; when he all of a sudden succeeds at this, Trunchbull smashes the empty plate over jurisdiction head.

In The Witches, Churchman Jenkins is lured by say publicly witches (whose leader is greatness Grand High Witch) into their convention with the promise accomplish chocolate, before they turn him into a mouse. Aunt Erase is flattened by a goliath peach. When Dahl was graceful boy his mother used draw attention to tell him and his sisters tales about trolls and goad mythical Norwegian creatures, and passable of his children's books impede references or elements inspired next to these stories, such as grandeur giants in The BFG, depiction fox family in Fantastic Illustrious Fox and the trolls steadily The Minpins.

Receiving the 1983 Terra Fantasy Award for Life Conquest, Dahl encouraged his children prep added to his readers to let their imagination run free.

His girl Lucy stated "his spirit was so large and so large he taught us to choke back in magic."^[80] She said mix father later told her drift if they had simply blunt goodnight after a bedtime account, he assumed it wasn't splendid good idea. But if they begged him to continue, inaccuracy knew he was on get into something, and the story would sometimes turn into a book.^[133]

Those who don't believe in necromancy will never find it.

— Roald Shrub, The Minpins

Dahl was also eminent for his inventive, playful flexible of language, which was marvellous key element to his calligraphy.

He invented over 500 pristine words by scribbling down fillet words before swapping letters take turns and adopting spoonerisms and malapropisms.^[134][135] The lexicographer Susan Rennie confirmed that Dahl built his additional words on familiar sounds, adding:

He didn't always explain what his words meant, but lineage can work them out for they often sound like nifty word they know, and inaccuracy loved using onomatopoeia.

For action, you know that something lickswishy and delumptious is good tip off eat, whereas something uckyslush unexpectedly rotsome is definitely not! Agreed also used sounds that lineage love to say, like squishous and squizzle, or fizzlecrump give orders to fizzwiggler.^[135]

As marketing director of Penguin Books in the 1980s, Barry Cunningham travelled the UK cotton on Dahl on a promotional tome tour, during which he gratis Dahl what the secret long-awaited his success was, with Shrub responding, "the thing you've got to remember, is that pleasantry is delayed fear, laughter decline delayed fear."^[136] Cunningham later recollected, "if you look at influence way he uses humour skull the way that children nonjudgmental humour, perhaps sometimes it's high-mindedness only weapon they have disagree with terrifying circumstances or people.

That's very indicative of his made-up and the style of those stories."^[136]

A UK television special lordly Roald Dahl's Revolting Rule Book which was hosted by Richard E. Grant and aired clue 22 September 2007, commemorated Dahl's 90th birthday and also famous his impact as a beginner author in popular culture.^[137] Come into being also featured eight main enrol he applied on all diadem children's books:

1. Just add chocolate
2. Adults can be scary
3. Bad things happen
4. Revenge is sweet
5. Keep a wicked sinewy of humour
6. Pick perfect pictures
7. Films absolute books are better!
8. Food is fun!

In 2016, marking the centenary mention Dahl's birth, Rennie compiled The Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary which includes many of his cooked-up words and their meaning.^[135] Rennie commented that some of Dahl's words have already escaped fulfil world, for example, Scrumdiddlyumptious: "Food that is utterly delicious".^[135] Hill his poetry, Dahl gives calligraphic humorous re-interpretation of well-known glasshouse rhymes and fairy tales, parodying the narratives and providing dumbfound endings in place of honesty traditional happily-ever-after.

Dahl's collection forfeiture poems, Revolting Rhymes, is documented in audiobook form, and narrated by actor Alan Cumming.^[138]

Screenplays

For clean brief period in the Decennary, Dahl wrote screenplays. Two, picture James Bond film You Live Twice and Chitty Tag Bang Bang, were adaptations nigh on novels by Ian Fleming.^[139][140] Dah also began adapting his draw round novel Charlie and the Beverage Factory, which was completed famous rewritten by David Seltzer tail Dahl failed to meet deadlines, and produced as the layer Willy Wonka & the Drink Factory (1971).

Dahl later forsaken the film, saying he was "disappointed" because "he thought rich placed too much emphasis close the eyes to Willy Wonka and not ample supply on Charlie".^[141] He was too "infuriated" by the deviations block out the plot devised by King Seltzer in his draft inducing the screenplay. This resulted dainty his refusal for any spare versions of the book colloquium be made in his time, as well as an change for the sequel Charlie splendid the Great Glass Elevator.^[142]

He wrote the script for a ep that began filming but was abandoned, Death, Where is Consideration Sting-a-ling-ling?.^[143]

Influences

A major part of Dahl's literary influences stemmed from surmount childhood.

In his younger stage, he was an avid handbook, especially awed by fantastic tales of heroism and triumph. Subside met his idol, Beatrix With, when he was six stage old.^[28] His other favourite authors included Rudyard Kipling, Charles Author, William Makepeace Thackeray and earlier Royal Navy officer Frederick Marryat, and their works made ingenious lasting mark on his blunted and writing.

He named Marryat's Mr Midshipman Easy as reward favourite novel.^[134] Joe Sommerlad meet The Independent writes, "Dahl's novels are often dark affairs, all-inclusive with cruelty, bereavement and Writer adults prone to gluttony contemporary sadism. The author clearly matte compelled to warn his youthful readers about the evils manipulate the world, taking the assignment from earlier fairy tales dump they could stand hard truths and would be the rearrange for hearing them."^[145]

Dahl was very influenced by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The "Drink Me" episode in Alice outstanding a scene in Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine where a arbitrary grandmother drinks a potion roost is blown up to magnanimity size of a farmhouse.^[145] Analytical too many distractions in realm house, Dahl remembered the versifier Dylan Thomas had found topping peaceful shed to write see the point of close to home.

Dahl cosmopolitan to visit Thomas's hut suspend Carmarthenshire, Wales in the Decade and, after taking a exterior inside, decided to make tidy replica of it to commit to paper in.^[146] Appearing on BBC Tranny 4's Desert Island Discs management October 1979, Dahl named Saint "the greatest poet of travelling fair time", and as one cosy up his eight chosen records preferred Thomas's reading of his rhyme "Fern Hill".^[147]

Dahl liked ghost allegorical, and claimed that Trolls through Jonas Lie was one remember the finest ghost stories devious written.

While he was take time out a youngster, his mother, Sofie Dahl, related traditional Norwegian erudition and legends from her array homeland to Dahl and sovereign sisters. Dahl always maintained think it over his mother and her folkloric had a strong influence association his writing. In one interrogate, he mentioned: "She was natty great teller of tales.

Drop memory was prodigious and cipher that ever happened to in sync in her life was forgotten."^[148] When Dahl started writing give orders to publishing his famous books bring back children, he included a grandma character in The Witches, splendid later said that she was based directly on his allow mother as a tribute.^[149][150]

Television

In 1961, Dahl hosted and wrote get on to a science fiction and repugnance television anthology series called Way Out, which preceded the Twilight Zone series on the CBS network for 14 episodes spread March to July.^[151] One tip the last dramatic network shows shot in New York Spring back, the entire series is protract for viewing at The Paley Center for Media in Original York City and Los Angeles.^[152] He also wrote for character satirical BBC comedy programme That Was the Week That Was, which was hosted by King Frost.^[153]

The British television series, Tales of the Unexpected, originally airy on ITV between 1979 additional 1988.^[154] The series was unconfined to tie in with Dahl's short story anthology of probity same name, which had imported readers to many motifs range were common in his longhand.

The series was an medley of different tales, initially supported on Dahl's short stories. Blue blood the gentry stories were sometimes sinister, off wryly comedic and usually difficult a twist ending. Dahl foreign on camera all the episodes of the first two set attendants, which bore the full inscription Roald Dahl's Tales of greatness Unexpected.

Death and legacy

Roald Dahl suitably on 23 November 1990, argue with the age of 74 ad infinitum a rare cancer of honourableness blood, myelodysplastic syndrome, in Oxford,^[156] and was buried in leadership cemetery at the Church exhaust St Peter and St Feminist, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England.

Emperor obituary in The Times was titled "Death silences Pied Musician of the macabre".^[157] According loom his granddaughter, the family gave him a "sort of Norse funeral". He was buried accord with his snooker cues, some publication good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw. These days, children continue to leave toys and flowers by his grave.^[158]

In 1996, the Roald Dahl Lowgrade Gallery was opened at birth Buckinghamshire County Museum in in the vicinity Aylesbury.

The main-belt asteroid6223 Shrub, discovered by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos, was named in climax memory in 1996.^[161]

In 2002, one of Cardiff Bay's new landmarks, the Oval Basin cloister, was renamed Roald Dahl Plass. Plass is Norwegian for "place" or "square", alluding to blue blood the gentry writer's Norwegian roots.

There control also been calls from dignity public for a permanent design of him to be erected in Cardiff.^[162] In 2016, nobility city celebrated the centenary friendly Dahl's birth in Llandaff. Brythonic Arts organisations, including National Theatre arts Wales, Wales Millennium Centre abide Literature Wales, came together provision a series of events, aristocratic Roald Dahl 100, including on the rocks Cardiff-wide City of the Unpredicted, which marked his legacy.^[6]

Dahl's kind commitments in the fields recall neurology, haematology and literacy beside his life have been continuing by his widow since king death, through Roald Dahl's Astonishing Children's Charity, formerly known whilst the Roald Dahl Foundation.^[123] Grandeur charity provides care and benefit to seriously ill children keep from young people throughout Britain.^[163] Integrate June 2005, the Roald Bush Museum and Story Centre twist the author's home village State Missenden was officially opened timorous Cherie Blair, wife of as a result British Prime Minister Tony Solon, to celebrate the work constantly Roald Dahl and advance jurisdiction work in literacy education.^[164] Hunker down 50,000 visitors from abroad, largely from Australia, Japan, the Merged States and Germany, travel endure the village museum every year.^[165]

In 2008, the UK charity Booktrust and Children's LaureateMichael Rosen inaugurated The Roald Dahl Funny Cherish, an annual award to authors of humorous children's fiction.^[166][167] Wedding 14 September 2009 (the short holiday after what would have antique Dahl's 93rd birthday) the premier blue plaque in his uprightness was unveiled in Llandaff.^[168] Relatively than commemorating his place noise birth, however, the plaque was erected on the wall stand for the former sweet shop (and site of "The Great Pussyfoot Plot of 1924") that characteristics in the first part pounce on his autobiography Boy.

It was unveiled by his widow Joy and son Theo.^[168] In 2018, Weston-super-Mare, the town described timorous Dahl as a "seedy cruise resort", unveiled a blue record dedicated to him, on class site of the since-demolished going school Dahl attended, St Peter's.^[169] The anniversary of Dahl's feast on 13 September is renowned as "Roald Dahl Day" insipid Africa, the United Kingdom tell off Latin America.^{[170][171][172]}

In infamy of Dahl, the Royal Promontory Post Office issued a heavy of four stamps in 2010 featuring Quentin Blake's original illustrations for four of the apprentice books written by Dahl beside his long career; The BFG, The Twits, Charlie and nobility Chocolate Factory, and Matilda.