About Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was an author, an ace fighter pilot, a spy, a medical inventor, and a chocolate historian. He is best known for his beloved children’s books such as ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Matilda,’ ‘The BFG,’ and ‘James and the Giant Peach.’

Famous Books by Roald Dahl

‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’– Published in 1964, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ is one of Roald Dahl’s most famous novels. The book follows the story of a poor boy who wins the golden ticket to the factory of the famous chocolatier, Willy Wonka. Charlie, being a good-natured young boy wins a fantasy apprenticeship with the world’s greatest chocolatier. The rest of his peers, however, are not as lucky. Their selfishness and greed lead them down the wrong paths at the factory, and they meet sticky ends.

‘Matilda‘ – ‘Matilda‘ was the last long children’s book written by Roald Dahl in 1988. The story revolves around a 5-year-old girl with a genius intellect. Matilda also has magical powers. That is the ability to move objects with her mind. However, Matilda faces some big bullies in her life and attempts to overcome the problems they pose with her wit and talent. She meets a wonderful teacher along the way and learns important life lessons.

‘The BFG’ – Published in 1982, ‘The BFG‘ serves as a testament to Roald Dahl’s quirky writing style and imaginative wordplay. The title of the novel stands for the big friendly giant that a young orphan girl meets and befriends. The young girl learns about the fascinating aspects of the universe from the BFG, including the origin of human dreams and the music that the stars in the sky above her produce.

‘James and the Giant Peach’ – ‘James and the Giant Peach‘ is one of the first children’s novels written by Roald Dahl. In this novel, the protagonist of the novel is a young boy named James who is terrorized day in and day out by his abusive aunts. James does not have a single friend until he meets a special insect – the Old Green Grasshopper. James, the Old Green Grasshopper, and the rest of his insect friends go aboard a giant, magical peach into the great unknown for a magical adventure.

Early Life

Roald Dahl was born in 1916 in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales to Norwegian parents Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg. Dahl lost his sister Astri to appendicitis when he was just three years old. In the same year, his father passed away from pneumonia.

Dahl’s mother decided to bring him up in Wales and his earliest education was in English public schools. As a result, Dahl attended The Cathedral School at Llandaff then transferred to St Peter’s, a British boarding school in Weston-super-Mare. Dahl did not have a pleasant time in this boarding school. He was extremely homesick and wrote to his mother very often.

At the age of 13, Dahl attended Repton School in Derbyshire, England. Dahl disliked his time at Repton because of the hazing, cruelty, and status domination that prevailed there. Young boys at the school were subjected to corporal punishment and terrible beatings by teachers and older boys.

Dahl spent his summers in Oslo, Norway with his grandparents, where he made several happy memories.

Later Life and Death

After school, Dahl went on an expedition to Newfoundland before joining Shell Petroleum Company in 1934. Shell Oil Company assigned him to “wonderful faraway places” he wanted, such as Mombasa, Kenya, and then Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika (Tanzania, Africa).

In 1939, Dahl enlisted as a member of the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman. He became a pilot officer within six months and was assigned to a squadron. However, his aircraft crashed on a mission in Alexandria and he sustained several serious injuries including a fractured skull, a smashed nose, and temporary blindness. On 28 April 1941, Dahl took part in the Battle of Athens, and within a month, he was evacuated to Egypt.

Dahl tried to recover his health enough to become an instructor and took a job as an assistant air attaché at the British Embassy in Washington DC. Dahl met several people during his time at the embassy, including Lord Halifax and British novelist CS Forester.

During the war, Dahl worked as a spy – supplying intelligence to Stephenson and his organization, which was a part of MI6. He also supplied intelligence from Washington to Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

After the war, Roald Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal in 1953 with whom he had five children. Two of his children died of complications and diseases. Dahl and Neal divorced in 1983 when Dahl married Felicity d’Abreu Crosland.

During the later stages of his life, Dahl suffered from a cancer of the blood known as myelodysplastic syndrome. Cancer took his life on 23rd November 1990 where he was buried in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire at the age of 74. Dahl has left behind a huge legacy, of which the 1996 Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize are just the tip of the iceberg.

Literary Career

Roald Dahl was regarded as “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century” by The Times. His literary career began with his first story ever, ‘A Piece of Cake.‘ The story was an account of his wartime adventures published in 1942 by the Saturday Evening Post under the title ‘Shot Down Over Libya.’

His first children’s book, ‘The Gremlins,’ came out in 1943, but it was not a success. He had written the story for Walt Disney, to be turned into a movie. Dahl then began writing dark and macabre adult short stories which appeared in several American magazines such as Harper’s, Playboy, The New Yorker, and so on. His short stories were extremely popular and he wrote more than 60 of them. They were anthologized in numerous short story collections including ‘Skin‘, ‘Someone Like You,’ and ‘Tales of the Unexpected.’ As a short story writer, Dahl has come to be known as a “teller of the unexpected.’

Some of his most famous adult stories include ‘The Smoker’ which was turned into an episode of ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ in 1985 as well as ‘Four Rooms’ by Quentin Tarantino in 1995. Another popular short story was ‘The Landlady.’ Dahl also wrote several novels for adults including ‘My Uncle Oswald’, ‘Memories with Food at Gipsy House,’ and ‘Esio Trot.’ He has also written an autobiography called ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood,’ which recollects his adventures as a mischievous child.

Roald Dahl is most famous for his children’s fiction. These are whimsical fantasy stories written from the point of view of a child. As a children’s writer, some of the most famous of Dahl’s books include ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Matilda,’ ‘The BFG,’ ‘The Witches,’ ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine,’ ‘Danny, Champion of the World‘, and ‘James and the Giant Peach.’

The writer for children must be a jokey sort of a fellow. He must like simple tricks and jokes and riddles and other childish things. He must be … inventive. He must have a really first-class plot.

Literary Influences

Roald Dahl is influenced by his favorite authors including Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Frederick Marryat, and William Makepeace Thackeray.

Dahl was also highly influenced by Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland‘ and Jonas Lie’s ‘Trolls.’ He was also inspired by his mother’s Norwegian stories and folk tales, as well as her magnetic storytelling.

Literature by Roald Dahl

Explore literature by Roald Dahl below, created by the team at Book Analysis.