does he look like a nazi to you?
.
(13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990)
Roald Dahl was a British popular author of children’s literature and short stories, a poet, and wartime fighter ace
His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide
Dahl has been called “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century”
Dahl was born in Wales to affluent Norwegian immigrant parents, and spent most of his life in England.
He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
He became a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and for adults, and he became one of the world’s best-selling authors.[6][7] His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the British Book Awards’ Children’s Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of “The 50 Greatest British Writers Since 1945”.[8] In 2021, Forbes ranked him the top-earning dead celebrity.[9]
Dahl’s short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children’s books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters.[10][11] His children’s books champion the kindhearted and feature an underlying warm sentiment.[12][13] His 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, the Champion of the World. His works for older audiences include the short story collections Tales of the Unexpected and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.
Early life
Childhood
Dahl at age 10 with his sisters Alfhild, Else and Asta. Cardiff, 1927.
Roald Dahl was born in 1916 at Villa Marie, Fairwater Road, in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, to Norwegians Harald Dahl (1863–1920) and Sofie Magdalene Dahl (née Hesselberg) (1885–1967).[14][15] Dahl’s father, a wealthy shipbroker and self-made man, had emigrated to the UK from Sarpsborg in Norway and settled in Cardiff in the 1880s with his first wife, Frenchwoman Marie Beaurin-Gresser. They had two children together (Ellen Marguerite and Louis) before her death in 1907.[16] Roald Dahl’s mother belonged to a well-established Norwegian family of lawyers, priests in the state church and wealthy merchants and estate owners, and emigrated to the UK when she married his father in 1911. Dahl was named after Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen. His first language was Norwegian, which he spoke at home with his parents and his sisters Astri, Alfhild, and Else. The children were raised in Norway’s Lutheran state church, the Church of Norway, and were baptised at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff.[17] His maternal grandmother Ellen Wallace was a granddaughter of the member of parliament Georg Wallace and a descendant of an early 18th-century Scottish immigrant to Norway.[18]
Dahl’s sister Astri died from appendicitis at age seven in 1920 when Dahl was three years old, and his father died of pneumonia at age 57 several weeks later.[19] Later that year, 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 £6,791,035 in 2021).[20][21][22] Dahl’s mother decided to remain in Wales instead of returning to Norway to live with relatives, as her husband had wanted their children to be educated in English schools, which he considered the world’s best.[23] When he was six years old, Dahl met his idol Beatrix Potter, author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit featuring the mischievous Peter Rabbit, the first licensed fictional character.[24][25] In 2020 their meeting would be dramatised in the television drama film, Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse.[26][27]
Dahl first attended The Cathedral School, Llandaff. At age eight, he and four of his friends were caned by the headmaster after putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at the local sweet shop,[5] which was owned by a “mean and loathsome” old woman named Mrs Pratchett.[5] The five boys named their prank the “Great Mouse Plot of 1924”.[29] Mrs Pratchett inspired Dahl’s creation of the cruel headmistress Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, and a prank, this time in a water jug belonging to Trunchbull, would also appear in the book.[30][31] Gobstoppers were a favourite sweet among British schoolboys between the two World Wars, and Dahl referred to them in his fictional Everlasting Gobstopper which was featured in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.[32]
Dahl transferred to St Peter’s boarding school in Weston-super-Mare. His parents had wanted him to be educated at an English public school, and this proved to be the nearest because of the regular ferry link across the Bristol Channel. Dahl’s time at St Peter’s was unpleasant; he was very homesick and wrote to his mother every week but never revealed his unhappiness to her. After her death in 1967, he learned that she had saved every one of his letters;[33] they were broadcast in abridged form as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week in 2016 to mark the centenary of his birth.[34] Dahl wrote about his time at St Peter’s in his autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood.[35]
Repton School
Repton School, Derbyshire
From 1929, when he was 13, Dahl attended Repton School in Derbyshire. Dahl disliked the hazing and described an environment of ritual cruelty and status domination, with younger boys having to act as personal servants for older boys, frequently subject to terrible beatings. His biographer Donald Sturrock described these violent experiences in Dahl’s early life.[36] Dahl expresses some of these darker experiences in his writings, which is also marked by his hatred of cruelty and corporal punishment.[37]
According to Dahl’s autobiography, Boy: Tales of Childhood, a friend named Michael was viciously caned by headmaster Geoffrey Fisher. Writing in that same book, Dahl reflected: “All through my school life I was appalled by the fact that masters and senior boys were allowed literally to wound other boys, and sometimes quite severely… I couldn’t get over it. I never have got over it.”[38] Fisher was later appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and he crowned Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. However, according to Dahl’s biographer Jeremy Treglown,[39] the caning took place in May 1933, a year after Fisher had left Repton; the headmaster was in fact J. T. Christie, Fisher’s successor as headmaster. Dahl said the incident caused him to “have doubts about religion and even about God”.[40]
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.”[41] Dahl was exceptionally tall, reaching 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) in adult life.[42] He played sports including cricket, football and golf, and was made captain of the squash team.[43] As well as having a passion for literature, he developed an interest in photography and often carried a camera with him.[19]
During his years at Repton, the Cadbury chocolate company occasionally sent boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by the pupils.[44] Dahl dreamt of inventing a new chocolate bar that would win the praise of Mr Cadbury himself; this inspired him in writing his third children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), and to refer to chocolate in other children’s books.[45]
Throughout his childhood and adolescent years, Dahl spent most of his summer holidays with his mother’s family in Norway
He wrote about many happy memories from those visits in Boy: Tales of Childhood, such as when he replaced the tobacco in his half-sister’s fiancé’s pipe with goat droppings.[46] He noted only one unhappy memory of his holidays in Norway: at around the age of eight, he had to have his adenoids removed by a doctor.[47] His childhood and first job selling kerosene in Midsomer Norton and surrounding villages in Somerset are subjects in Boy: Tales of Childhood.[48]
After school
After finishing his schooling, in August 1934 Dahl crossed the Atlantic on the RMS Nova Scotia and hiked through Newfoundland with the Public Schools Exploring Society.[49][50]
In July 1934, Dahl joined the Shell Petroleum Company. Following two years of training in the United Kingdom, he was assigned first to Mombasa, Kenya, then to Dar es Salaam in the British colony of Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania).[51] Dahl explains in his autobiography Going Solo that only three young Englishmen ran the Shell company in the territory, of which he was the youngest and junior.[52] 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 cook and personal servants. While out on assignments supplying oil to customers across Tanganyika, he encountered black mamba snakes and lions, among other wildlife.[51]
Fighter pilot
Dahl’s flying helmet
In August 1939, as the Second World War loomed, the British made plans to round up the hundreds of Germans living in Dar-es-Salaam. Dahl was commissioned as a lieutenant into the King’s African Rifles, commanding a platoon of Askari men, indigenous troops who were serving in the colonial army.[53]
In November 1939, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraftman with service number 774022.[54] After a 600-mile (970 km) car journey from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, he was accepted for flight training with sixteen other men, of whom only three survived the war. With seven hours and 40 minutes experience in a De Havilland Tiger Moth, he flew solo;[55] Dahl enjoyed watching the wildlife of Kenya during his flights. He continued to advanced flying training in Iraq, at RAF Habbaniya, 50 miles (80 km) west of Baghdad. Following six months’ training on Hawker Harts, Dahl was commissioned as a pilot officer on 24 August 1940, and was judged ready to join a squadron and face the enemy.[54][56]
A Gloster Gladiator plane
He was assigned to No. 80 Squadron RAF, flying obsolete Gloster Gladiators, the last biplane fighter aircraft 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 by stages from Abu Sueir (near Ismailia, in Egypt) to 80 Squadron’s forward airstrip 30 miles (48 km) south of Mersa Matruh. On the final leg, he could not find the airstrip and, running low on fuel and with night approaching, he was forced to attempt a landing in the desert.[57] The undercarriage hit a boulder and the aircraft crashed. Dahl’s skull was fractured and his nose was smashed; he was temporarily blinded.[58] He managed to drag himself away from the blazing wreckage and lost consciousness. He wrote about the crash in his first published work.[58]
Dahl was rescued and taken to a first-aid post in Mersa Matruh, where he regained consciousness, but not his sight. He was transported by train to the Royal Navy hospital in Alexandria. 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 into the no man’s land between the Allied and Italian forces.[59]
A Hawker Hurricane Mk 1
A Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, the aircraft type in which Dahl engaged in aerial combat over Greece
In February 1941, Dahl was discharged from the hospital and deemed fully fit for flying duties. By this time, 80 Squadron had been transferred to the Greek campaign and based at Eleusina, near Athens. The squadron was now equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. Dahl flew a replacement Hurricane across the Mediterranean Sea in April 1941, after seven hours’ experience flying Hurricanes. By this stage in the Greek campaign, the RAF had only 18 combat aircraft in Greece: 14 Hurricanes and four Bristol Blenheim light bombers. Dahl flew in his first aerial combat on 15 April 1941, while flying alone over the city of Chalcis. 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.[60]
On 20 April 1941, Dahl took part in the Battle of Athens, alongside the highest-scoring British Commonwealth ace of World War II, Pat Pattle, and Dahl’s friend David Coke. 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 aircraft they had shot down. Dahl described it as “an endless blur of enemy fighters whizzing towards me from every side”.[61]
In May, as the Germans were pressing on Athens, Dahl was evacuated to Egypt. His squadron was reassembled in Haifa. From there, Dahl flew sorties every day for a period of four weeks, shooting down a Vichy French Air Force Potez 63 on 8 June and another Ju 88 on 15 June. In a memoir, Dahl recounts in detail an attack by him and his fellow Hurricane pilots on the Vichy-held Rayak airfield. He says that as he and his fellow Hurricane pilots swept in:
… low over the field at midday we saw to our astonishment a bunch of girls in brightly coloured cotton dresses standing out by the planes with glasses in their hands having drinks with the French pilots, and I remember seeing bottles of wine standing on the wing of one of the planes as we went swooshing over. It was a Sunday morning and the Frenchmen were evidently entertaining their girlfriends and showing off their aircraft to them, which was a very French thing to do in the middle of a war at a front-line aerodrome. Every one of us held our fire on that first pass over the flying field and it was wonderfully comical to see the girls all dropping their wine glasses and galloping in their high heels for the door of the nearest building. We went round again, but this time we were no longer a surprise and they were ready for us with their ground defences, and I am afraid that our chivalry resulted in damage to several of our Hurricanes, including my own. But we destroyed five of their planes on the ground.[62]
Despite this somewhat light-hearted account, Dahl also noted that, ultimately, Vichy forces killed four of the nine Hurricane pilots in his squadron. Describing the Vichy forces as “disgusting”, he stated that “… thousands of lives were lost, and I for one have never forgiven the Vichy French for the unnecessary slaughter they caused.”[63]
When he began to get severe headaches that caused him to black out, he was invalided home to Britain where he stayed with his mother in Buckinghamshire.[64] Though at this time Dahl was only a pilot officer on probation, in September 1941 he was simultaneously confirmed as a pilot officer and promoted to war substantive flying officer.[65]
Diplomat, writer and intelligence officer
After being invalided home, Dahl was posted to an RAF training camp in Uxbridge. He attempted to recover his health enough to become an instructor.[66] In late March 1942, while in London, he met the Under-Secretary of State for Air, Major Harold Balfour, at his club. Impressed by Dahl’s war record and conversational abilities, Balfour appointed the young man as assistant air attaché at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. Initially resistant, Dahl was finally persuaded by Balfour to accept, and took passage on the MS Batory from Glasgow a few days later. He arrived in Halifax, Canada, on 14 April, after which he took a sleeper train to Montreal.[67]
Coming from war-starved Britain (in what was a wartime period of rationing in the United Kingdom), Dahl was amazed by the wealth of food and amenities to be had in North America.[68] Arriving in Washington a week later, Dahl found he liked the atmosphere of the US capital. He shared a house with another attaché at 1610 34th Street, NW, in Georgetown. But after ten days in his new posting, Dahl strongly disliked it, feeling he had taken on “a most ungodly unimportant job”.[69] He later explained, “I’d just come from the war. People were getting killed. I had been flying around, seeing horrible things. Now, almost instantly, I found myself in the middle of a pre-war cocktail party in America.”[70]
Dahl was unimpressed by his office in the British Air Mission, attached to the embassy. He was also unimpressed by the ambassador, Lord Halifax, with whom he sometimes played tennis and whom he described as “a courtly English gentleman”. Dahl socialised with Charles E. Marsh, a Texas publisher and oilman, at his house at 2136 R Street, NW, and the Marsh country estate in Virginia.[71][72] As part of his duties as assistant air attaché, Dahl was to help neutralise the isolationist views still held by many Americans by giving pro-British speeches and discussing his war service; the United States had entered the war only the previous December, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.[56]
At this time Dahl met the noted British novelist C. S. Forester, who was also working to aid the British war effort. Forester worked for the British Ministry of Information and was writing propaganda for the Allied cause, mainly for American consumption.[73] The Saturday Evening Post had asked Forester to write a story based on Dahl’s flying experiences; Forester 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.[74] He originally titled the article as “A Piece of Cake” but the magazine changed it to “Shot Down Over Libya” to make it sound more dramatic, although Dahl had not been shot down; it was published on 1 August 1942 issue of the Post. Dahl was promoted to flight lieutenant (war-substantive) in August 1942.[75] Later he worked with such other well-known British officers as Ian Fleming (who later published the popular James Bond series) and David Ogilvy, promoting Britain’s interests and message in the US and combating the “America First” movement.[56]
This work introduced Dahl to espionage and the activities of the Canadian spymaster William Stephenson, known by the codename “Intrepid”.[76] During the war, Dahl supplied intelligence from Washington to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. As Dahl 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.”[74] Dahl also supplied intelligence to Stephenson and his organisation, known as British Security Coordination, which was part of MI6.[72] 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 commander rank.[77] Toward the end of the war, Dahl wrote some of the history of the secret organisation; he and Stephenson remained friends for decades after the war.[78]
Upon the war’s conclusion, Dahl held the rank of a temporary wing commander (substantive flight lieutenant). Owing to the severity of his injuries from the 1940 accident, he was pronounced unfit for further service and was invalided out of the RAF in August 1946. He left the service with the substantive rank of squadron leader.[79] His record of five aerial victories, qualifying him as a flying ace, has been confirmed by post-war research and cross-referenced in Axis records. It is most likely that he scored more than those victories during 20 April 1941, when 22 German aircraft were shot down.[80]
Post-war life
Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl
Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal on 2 July 1953 at Trinity Church in New York City. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and they had five children:
Olivia Twenty (1955–1962);
Chantal Sophia “Tessa” (born 1957), who became an author, and mother of author, cookbook writer and former model Sophie Dahl (after whom Sophie in The BFG is named);[81]
Theo Matthew (born 1960);
Ophelia Magdalena (born 1964);
Lucy Neal (born 1965).[82]
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 hydrocephalus. As a result, his father became involved in the development of what became known as the “Wade-Dahl-Till” (or WDT) valve, a device to improve the shunt used to alleviate the condition.[83][84] The valve was a collaboration between Dahl, hydraulic engineer Stanley Wade, and London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital neurosurgeon Kenneth Till, and was used successfully on almost 3,000 children around the world.[85]
In November 1962, Dahl’s daughter Olivia died of measles encephalitis, age seven. Her death left Dahl “limp with despair”, and feeling guilty about not having been able to do anything for her.[85] Dahl subsequently became a proponent of immunisation—writing “Measles: A Dangerous Illness” in 1988 in response to measles cases in the UK—and dedicated his 1982 book The BFG to his daughter.[86][87] After Olivia’s death and a meeting with a Church official, Dahl came to view Christianity as a sham.[88] In mourning he had sought spiritual guidance from Geoffrey Fisher, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and was dismayed being told that, although Olivia was in Paradise, her beloved dog Rowley would never join her there.[88] Dahl recalled years later:
“I wanted to ask him how he could be so absolutely sure that other creatures did not get the same special treatment as us. I sat there wondering if this great and famous churchman really knew what he was talking about and whether he knew anything at all about God or heaven, and if he didn’t, then who in the world did?”[88]
In 1965, Dahl’s wife Patricia Neal suffered three burst cerebral aneurysms while pregnant with their fifth child, Lucy. Dahl took control of her rehabilitation over the next months; Neal had to re-learn to talk and walk, but she managed to return to her acting career.[89] This period of their lives was dramatised in the film The Patricia Neal Story (1981), in which the couple were played by Glenda Jackson and Dirk Bogarde.[90]
Dahl signing books
Dahl (age 72) signing books in Amsterdam, Netherlands (October 1988).
In 1972, Roald Dahl met Felicity d’Abreu Crosland, niece of Lt.-Col. Francis D’Abreu who was married to Margaret Bowes Lyon, the first cousin of the Queen Mother, while Felicity was working as a set designer on an advert for Maxim coffee with the author’s then wife, Patricia Neal.[91] Soon after the pair were introduced, they began an 11-year affair.[91] In 1983 Neal and Dahl divorced and Dahl married Felicity,[92][93] at Brixton Town Hall, South London. Felicity (known as Liccy) gave up her job and moved into Gipsy House, Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, which had been Dahl’s home since 1954.[94]
In the 1986 New Years Honours List, Dahl was offered an appointment to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), but turned it down. He reportedly wanted a knighthood so that his wife would be Lady Dahl.[95][96] In 2012, Dahl was featured in the list of The New Elizabethans to mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A panel of seven academics, journalists and historians named Dahl among the group of people in the UK “whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and given the age its character”.[97] In September 2016, Dahl’s daughter Lucy received the BBC’s Blue Peter Gold badge in his honour, the first time it had ever been awarded posthumously.[98]
Writing
Roald Dahl’s story “The Devious Bachelor” was illustrated by Frederick Siebel when it was published in Collier’s (September 1953).
Dahl’s first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was “A Piece of Cake”, on 1 August 1942. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by The Saturday Evening Post for US$1,000 (equivalent to $18,000 in 2022) and published under the title “Shot Down Over Libya”.[99]
His first children’s book was The Gremlins, published in 1943, about mischievous little creatures that were part of Royal Air Force folklore.[100] The RAF pilots blamed the gremlins for all the problems with the aircraft.[101] The protagonist Gus—an RAF pilot, like Dahl—joins forces with the gremlins against a common enemy, Hitler and the Nazis.[102] While at the British Embassy in Washington, Dahl sent a copy to the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who read it to her grandchildren,[100] and the book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made.[103] Dahl went on to write some of the best-loved children’s stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and 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 a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, which often blended humour and innocence with surprising plot twists.[104] The Mystery Writers of America presented Dahl with three Edgar Awards for his work, and many were originally written for American magazines such as Collier’s (“The Collector’s Item” was Collier’s Star Story of the week for 4 September 1948), Ladies Home Journal, Harper’s, Playboy and The New Yorker.[105] Works such as Kiss Kiss subsequently collected Dahl’s stories into anthologies, and gained significant popularity. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories; they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death. His three Edgar Awards were given for: in 1954, the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, the story “The Landlady”; and in 1980, the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on “Skin”.[104]
Roald Dahl’s vardo
One of his more famous adult stories, “The Smoker”, also known as “Man from the South”, was filmed twice as both 1960 and 1985 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, filmed as a 1979 episode of Tales of the Unexpected, and also adapted into Quentin Tarantino’s segment of the film Four Rooms (1995).[106] This oft-anthologised classic concerns a man in Jamaica who wagers with visitors in an attempt to claim the fingers from their hands. The original 1960 version in the Hitchcock series stars Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre.[106] Five additional Dahl stories were used in the Hitchcock series. Dahl was credited with teleplay for two episodes, and four of his episodes were directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself, an example of which was “Lamb to the Slaughter” (1958).[107]
Dahl acquired a traditional Romanichal vardo in the 1960s, and the family used it as a playhouse for his children at home in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. He later used the vardo as a writing room, where he wrote Danny, the Champion of the World in 1975.[108] Dahl incorporated a Gypsy wagon into the main plot of the book, where the young English boy, Danny, and his father, William (played by Jeremy Irons in the film adaptation) live in a vardo.[109] Many other scenes and characters from Great Missenden are reflected in his work. For example, the village library was the inspiration for Mrs Phelps’ library in Matilda, where the title character devours classic literature by the age of four.[110]
His short story collection Tales of the Unexpected was adapted to a successful TV series of the same name, beginning with “Man from the South”.[111] When the stock of Dahl’s own original stories was exhausted, the series continued by adapting stories written in Dahl’s style by other authors, including John Collier and Stanley Ellin.[112] Another collection of short stories, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, was published in 1977, and the eponymous short story will be adapted into a film in 2023 by director Wes Anderson with Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character Henry Sugar.[113]
Some of Dahl’s 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.[114] In his novel My Uncle Oswald, 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, Prestat of Piccadilly, London.[114] Memories with Food at Gipsy House, 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.[115][116]
The last book published in his lifetime, Esio Trot, released in January 1990, marked a change in style for the author. Unlike other Dahl works (which often feature tyrannical adults and heroic/magical children), it is the story of an old, lonely man trying to make a connection with a woman he has loved from afar.[117] In 1994, the English language audiobook recording of the book was provided by Monty Python member Michael Palin.[118] Screenwriter Richard Curtis adapted it into a 2015 BBC television comedy film, Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot, featuring Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench as the couple.[119]
Children’s fiction
“He [Dahl] was mischievous. A grown-up being mischievous. He addresses you, a child, as somebody who knows about the world. He was a grown-up—and he was bigger than most—who is on your side. That must have something to do with it.”
—Illustrator Quentin Blake on the lasting appeal of Dahl’s children’s books.[5]
Dahl’s children’s works are usually told from the point of view of a child. They typically involve adult villains who hate and mistreat children, and feature at least one “good” adult to counteract the villain(s).[5] These stock characters are possibly a reference to the abuse that Dahl stated that he experienced in the boarding schools he attended.[5] Dahl’s books see the triumph of the child; children’s book critic Amanda Craig said, “He was unequivocal that it is the good, young and kind who triumph over the old, greedy and the wicked.”[13] Anna Leskiewicz in The Telegraph wrote “It’s often suggested that Dahl’s lasting appeal is a result of his exceptional talent for wriggling his way into children’s fantasies and fears, and laying them out on the page with anarchic delight. Adult villains are drawn in terrifying detail, before they are exposed as liars and hypocrites, and brought tumbling down with retributive justice, either by a sudden magic or the superior acuity of the children they mistreat.”[117]
While his whimsical fantasy stories feature an underlying warm sentiment, they are often juxtaposed with grotesque, darkly comic and sometimes harshly violent scenarios.[10][12] The Witches, George’s Marvellous Medicine and Matilda are examples of this formula. The BFG follows, 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 Bang. Class-conscious themes also surface in works such as Fantastic Mr Fox and Danny, the Champion of the World where the unpleasant wealthy neighbours are outwitted.[74][120]
Dahl also features 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 features in James and the Giant Peach 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 Wonka’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. In Matilda, Bruce Bogtrotter steals cake from the evil headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and is forced to eat a gigantic chocolate cake in front of the school; when he unexpectedly succeeds at this, Trunchbull smashes the empty plate over his head. In The Witches, Bruno Jenkins is lured by the witches (whose leader is the Grand High Witch) into their convention with the promise of chocolate, before they turn him into a mouse.[121] Aunt Sponge is flattened by a giant peach. When Dahl was a boy his 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 BFG, the fox family in Fantastic Mr Fox and the trolls in The Minpins.[122]
Receiving the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, Dahl encouraged his children and his readers to let their imagination run free. His daughter Lucy stated “his spirit was so large and so big he taught us to believe in magic.”[74] She said her father later told her that if they had simply said goodnight after a bedtime story, he assumed it wasn’t a good idea. But if they begged him to continue, he knew he was on to something, and the story would sometimes turn into a book.[123]
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
— Roald Dahl, The Minpins
Dahl was also famous for his inventive, playful use of language, which was a key element to his writing. He invented new words by scribbling down his words before swapping letters around and adopting spoonerisms and malapropisms.[124] The lexicographer Susan Rennie stated that Dahl built his new words on familiar sounds, adding:
He didn’t always explain what his words meant, but children can work them out because they often sound like a word they know, and he loved using onomatopoeia. For example, you know that something lickswishy and delumptious is good to eat, whereas something uckyslush or rotsome is definitely not! He also used sounds that children love to say, like squishous and squizzle, or fizzlecrump and fizzwiggler.[124]
A UK television special titled Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rule Book which was hosted by Richard E. Grant and aired on 22 September 2007, commemorated Dahl’s 90th birthday and also celebrated his impact as a children’s author in popular culture.[125] It also featured eight main rules he applied on all his children’s books:
Just add chocolate
Adults can be scary
Bad things happen
Revenge is sweet
Keep a wicked sense of humour
Pick perfect pictures
Films are fun…but books are better!
Food is fun!
In 2016, marking the centenary of Dahl’s birth, Rennie compiled The Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary which includes many of his invented words and their meaning.[124] Rennie commented that some of Dahl’s words have already escaped his world, for example, Scrumdiddlyumptious: “Food that is utterly delicious”.[124] In his poetry, Dahl gives a humorous re-interpretation of well-known nursery rhymes and fairy tales, parodying the narratives and providing surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after. Dahl’s collection of poems Revolting Rhymes is recorded in audiobook form, and narrated by actor Alan Cumming.[126]
Screenplays
For a brief period in the 1960s, Dahl wrote screenplays. Two, the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, were adaptations of novels by Ian Fleming.[127][128] Dahl also began adapting his own novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was completed and rewritten by David Seltzer after Dahl failed to meet deadlines, and produced as the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (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”.[129] 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, as well as an adaptation for the sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.[130]
He wrote the script for a film that began filming but was abandoned, Death, Where is Thy Sting-a-ling-ling?.[131]
Influences
Interior of Dylan Thomas’s writing shed
Interior of Dylan Thomas’s writing shed. Dahl made a replica of it in his own garden in Great Missenden where he wrote many of his stories
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. He met his idol, Beatrix Potter, when he was six years old.[27] His other favourite authors included Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray and Frederick Marryat, and their works made a lasting mark on his life and writing.[132] Joe Sommerlad in The Independent writes, “Dahl’s novels are often dark affairs, filled with cruelty, bereavement and Dickensian adults prone to gluttony and sadism. The author clearly felt compelled to warn his young readers about the evils of the world, taking the lesson from earlier fairy tales that they could stand hard truths and would be the stronger for hearing them.”[133]
Dahl was also influenced by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The “Drink Me” episode in Alice inspired a scene in Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine where a tyrannical grandmother drinks a potion and is blown up to the size of a farmhouse.[133] Finding too many distractions in his house, Dahl remembered the poet Dylan Thomas had found a peaceful shed to write in close to home. Dahl travelled to visit Thomas’s hut in Carmarthenshire, Wales in the 1950s and, after taking a look inside, decided to make a replica of it to write in.[134]
Dahl liked ghost stories, and claimed that Trolls by Jonas Lie was one of the finest ghost stories ever written. While he was still a youngster, his mother, Sofie Dahl, related 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.”[135] When Dahl started writing and publishing his famous books for children, he included a grandmother character in The Witches, and later said that she was based directly on his own mother as a tribute.[136][137]
Television
In 1961, Dahl hosted and wrote for a science fiction and horror television anthology series called Way Out, which preceded the Twilight Zone series on the CBS network for 14 episodes from March to July.[138] 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.[139] He also wrote for the satirical BBC comedy programme That Was the Week That Was, which was hosted by David Frost.[140]
The British television series, Tales of the Unexpected, originally aired on ITV between 1979 and 1988.[141] The series was released to tie in with Dahl’s short story anthology of the same name, which had introduced readers to many motifs that were common in his writing.[111] The series was an anthology of different tales, initially based on Dahl’s short stories.[111] 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.[142]
Death and legacy
Dahl’s gravestone
Roald Dahl died on 23 November 1990, at the age of 74 of a rare cancer of the blood, myelodysplastic syndrome, in Oxford,[143] and was buried in the cemetery at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England. According to his granddaughter, the family gave him a “sort of Viking funeral”. He was buried with his snooker cues, some very good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw. Today, children continue to leave toys and flowers by his grave.[144]
In November 1996, the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery was opened at the Buckinghamshire County Museum in nearby Aylesbury.[145] The main-belt asteroid 6223 Dahl, discovered by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos, was named in his memory in 1996.[146][147]
Roald Dahl Plass illuminated at night
Plaque commemorating Roald Dahl
In 2002, one of Cardiff Bay’s modern landmarks, the Oval Basin plaza, was renamed Roald Dahl Plass. Plass is Norwegian for “place” or “square”, alluding to the writer’s Norwegian roots. There have also been calls from the public for a permanent statue of him to be erected in Cardiff.[148] In 2016, the city celebrated the centenary of Dahl’s birth in Llandaff. Welsh Arts organisations, including National Theatre Wales, Wales Millennium Centre and Literature Wales, came together for a series of events, titled Roald Dahl 100, including a Cardiff-wide City of the Unexpected, which marked his legacy.[6]
Dahl’s charitable commitments in the fields of neurology, haematology and literacy during his life have been continued by his widow since his death, through Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, formerly known as the Roald Dahl Foundation.[115] The charity provides care and support to seriously ill children and young people throughout the UK.[149] In June 2005, the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in the author’s home village Great Missenden was officially opened by Cherie Blair, wife of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, to celebrate the work of Roald Dahl and advance his work in literacy education.[150] Over 50,000 visitors from abroad, mainly from Australia, Japan, the United States and Germany, travel to the village museum every year.[151]
Matilda the Musical showing in the West End
In 2008, the UK charity Booktrust and Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen inaugurated The Roald Dahl Funny Prize, an annual award to authors of humorous children’s fiction.[152][153] On 14 September 2009 (the day after what would have been Dahl’s 93rd birthday) the first blue plaque in his honour was unveiled in Llandaff.[154] 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 Boy. It was unveiled by his widow Felicity and son Theo.[154] In 2018, Weston-super-Mare, the town described by Dahl as a “seedy seaside resort”, unveiled a blue plaque dedicated to him, on the site of the since-demolished boarding school Dahl attended, St Peter’s.[155] The anniversary of Dahl’s birthday on 13 September is celebrated as “Roald Dahl Day” in Africa, the United Kingdom and Latin America.[156][157][158]
“Arguably the Shakespeare of children’s literature, from Fantastic Mr Fox to Matilda and The BFG, filmmakers and animators are still drawing from the enormous vat of material he created.”
—”Britain’s top ten children’s literature superstars”. The Independent, 2012.[159]
In honour of Dahl, the Royal Gibraltar Post Office issued a set of four stamps in 2010 featuring Quentin Blake’s original illustrations for four of the children’s books written by Dahl during his long career; The BFG, The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Matilda.[160] A set of six commemorative Royal Mail stamps was issued in 2012, featuring Blake’s illustrations for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, The Twits, Matilda, Fantastic Mr Fox, and James and the Giant Peach.[161] Dahl’s influence has extended beyond literary figures. For instance film director Tim Burton recalled from childhood “the second layer [after Dr. Seuss] of connecting to a writer who gets the idea of the modern fable—and the mixture of light and darkness, and not speaking down to kids, and the kind of politically incorrect humour that kids get. I’ve always like that, and it’s shaped everything I’ve felt that I’ve done.”[162] Steven Spielberg read The BFG to his children when they were young, stating the book celebrates the fact that it’s OK to be different as well as to have an active imagination: “It’s very important that we preserve the tradition of allowing young children to run free with their imaginations and magic and imagination are the same thing.”[163] Actress Scarlett Johansson named Fantastic Mr Fox one of the five books that made a difference to her.[164]
Dahl has an incredibly distinctive style: his subversive, unpredictable plots, musical prose and caustic wit are impossible to imitate. And yet his stories have proved astonishingly malleable. Often adapted by equally idiosyncratic writers and directors, when translated onto stage and screen, his works seamlessly take on the impression of their new maker. Like in many of his stories, Dahl offers a narrative where troublemaking is rewarded, and games and tricks are more successful than following rules. Perhaps this, more than anything, is the reason why Dahl’s stories excite the imagination of so many adults and children, and why so many storytellers across stage and screen can’t resist remaking his tales in their own individual style. Right across his body of work, playfulness and inventiveness are always prized over boring qualities like obedience and deference. In Dahl’s world, creative disruption is presented in such an appealing, delicious light, that you can’t help but join in the fun.
— Anna Leskiewicz in The Telegraph, “Why we love the mischievous spirit of Roald Dahl”.[117]
Regarded as “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century”,[5] Dahl was named by The Times one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.[8] He ranks amongst the world’s best-selling fiction authors with sales estimated at over 300 million,[3][4][7][10] and his books have been published in 63 languages.[6][165] In 2000 Dahl topped the list of Britain’s favourite authors.[166] In 2003 four books by Dahl, led by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at number 35, ranked among the Top 100 in The Big Read, a survey of the British public by the BBC to determine the “nation’s best-loved novel” of all time.[167] In surveys of UK teachers, parents and students, Dahl is frequently ranked the best children’s writer.[168][169] In a 2006 list for the Royal Society of Literature, Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling named Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one of her top ten books every child should read.[170] Critics have commented on the similarities between the Dursley family from Harry Potter and the nightmarish guardians seen in many of Dahl’s books, such as Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker from James and the Giant Peach, Grandma from George’s Marvellous Medicine, and the Wormwoods from Matilda.[171] In 2012, Matilda was ranked number 30 among all-time best children’s novels in a survey published by School Library Journal, a monthly with primarily US audience. The Top 100 included four books by Dahl, more than any other writer.[172] The American magazine Time named three Dahl books in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult Books of All Time, more than any other author.[173] Dahl is one of the most borrowed authors in UK libraries.[174][175]
In 2012, Dahl was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork—the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover—to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life he most admires.[176][177] In 2016 Dahl’s enduring popularity was proved by his ranking in Amazon’s the top five best-selling children’s authors on the online store over the last year, looking at sales in print and on the Kindle store.[178] In a 2017 UK poll of the greatest authors, songwriters, artists and photographers, Dahl was named the greatest storyteller of all time, ranking ahead of Dickens, Shakespeare, Rowling and Spielberg.[179] In 2017, the airline Norwegian announced Dahl’s image would appear on the tail fin one of their Boeing 737-800 aircraft. He is one of the company’s six “British tail fin heroes”, joining Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, England World Cup winner Bobby Moore, novelist Jane Austen, pioneering pilot Amy Johnson and aviation entrepreneur Freddie Laker.[180][181]
In September 2021, Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in a deal worth more than £500 million ($686 million).[182] A film adaptation of Matilda the Musical was released by Netflix and Sony Pictures Releasing in December 2022, and the cast includes Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull.[183]
Criticism and controversy
Anti-Semitic and Anti-Israel comments
Dahl reviewed Australian author Tony Clifton’s God Cried, a picture book about the siege of West Beirut by the Israeli army during the 1982 Lebanon War.[184] The article appeared in the August 1983 issue of the Literary Review and was the subject of much media comment and criticism at the time.[185][186][187] According to Dahl, until this point in time “a race of people”, meaning Jews, had never “switched so rapidly from victims to barbarous murderers.” The empathy of all after the Holocaust had turned “into hatred and revulsion.”[186] Dahl wrote that Clifton’s book would make readers “violently anti-Israeli”, with Dahl stating: “I am not anti-Semitic. I am anti-Israel.”[188] He asked: “must Israel, like Germany, be brought to her knees before she learns how to behave in this world?”[189] The United States, he said, was “so utterly dominated by the great Jewish financial institutions” that “they dare not defy” Israelis.[186]
Following the Literary Review article, Dahl told a journalist from the New Statesman: “There’s a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it’s a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. 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.”[190][191] In 1990, during an interview with The Independent, Dahl explained that his issue with Israel began when they invaded Lebanon in 1982:
they killed 22,000 civilians when they bombed Beirut. It was very much hushed up in the newspapers because they are primarily Jewish-owned. I’m certainly anti-Israeli and I’ve become antisemitic in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism. I think they should see both sides. It’s the same old thing: we all know about Jews and the rest of it. There aren’t any non-Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media—jolly clever thing to do—that’s why the president of the United States has to sell all this stuff to Israel.[192][193]
Responding in 1990 to a journalist from The Jewish Chronicle, whom he considered rude, he said: “I am an old hand at dealing with you buggers.”[194] Jeremy Treglown, in his 1994 biography, writes of Dahl’s first novel Sometime Never (1948): “plentiful revelations about Nazi anti-Semitism and the Holocaust did not discourage him from satirising ‘a little pawnbroker in Hounsditch called Meatbein who, when the wailing started, would rush downstairs to the large safe in which he kept his money, open it and wriggle inside on to the lowest shelf where he lay like a hibernating hedgehog until the all-clear had gone.'”[195] In a short story entitled “Madame Rosette”, the eponymous character is termed “a filthy old Syrian Jewess”.[195]
Dahl had Jewish friends, including the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, who commented: “I thought he might say anything. Could have been pro-Arab or pro-Jew. There was no consistent line. He was a man who followed whims, which meant he would blow up in one direction, so to speak.”[188] Amelia Foster, director of the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden, says: “This is again an example of how Dahl refused to take anything seriously, even himself. He was very angry at the Israelis. He had a childish reaction to what was going on in Israel. Dahl wanted to provoke, as he always provoked at dinner. His publisher was a Jew, his agent was a Jew… and he thought nothing but good things of them. He asked me to be his managing director, and I’m Jewish.”[196]
In 2014, the Royal Mint decided not to produce a coin to commemorate the centenary of Dahl’s birth, saying that it considered him to be “associated with antisemitism and not regarded as an author of the highest reputation”.[193] In 2020, Dahl’s family published a statement on the official Roald Dahl website apologising for his antisemitism.[197][198] The statement says “The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologise for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl’s statements. Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl’s stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations. We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words.”[192] The apology was received with appreciation by Jewish groups but some organisations, such as the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said that: “For his family and estate to have waited thirty years to make an apology, apparently until lucrative deals were signed with Hollywood, is disappointing and sadly rather more comprehensible.”[197]
Use of racial and sexist stereotypes
In 1972, Eleanor Cameron, also a children’s book author, published an article in The Horn Book criticising Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for being self-referentially hypocritical:
“What I object to in Charlie is its phony presentation of poverty and its phony humor, which is based on punishment with overtones of sadism; its hypocrisy which is epitomized in its moral stuck like a marshmallow in a lump of fudge — that TV is horrible and hateful and time-wasting and that children should read good books instead, when in fact the book itself is like nothing so much as one of the more specious television shows.”
Cameron took issue with the depiction of the Oompa-Loompas as imported African slaves and suggested that teachers look for better literature to use in the classroom.[199] In 1973, Dahl posted a reply, calling Cameron’s accusations “insensitive” and “monstrous”.[200] The Horn Book published Cameron’s response, where she clarified that she intended her article not to be a personal attack on Dahl, but to point out that though the book is a work of fiction, it still influences reality. She again objected to the Oompa-Loompa depiction: “[T]he situation of the Oompa-Loompas is real; it could not be more so, and it is anything but funny.”[201] The debate between the two authors sparked much discussion and a number of letters to the editor.[202]
A 1991 article by Michael Dirda published in The Washington Post, echoed Cameron’s comments, writing “the Oompa-Loompas… reveal virtually every stereotype about blacks”.[203] Dirda’s article also discussed many of the other criticisms of Dahl’s writing, including his alleged misogyny. He wrote “The Witches verges on a general misogyny”[203] and Michele Landsberg’s 1998 article analysing the alleged issues in Dahl’s work also stated: “Throughout his work, evil, domineering, smelly, fat, ugly women are his favorite villains.”[204]
In 2008, Una Mullally wrote an article that described Dahl’s short story collection Switch Bitch as “a collection better forgotten, laden with crude and often disturbing sexual fantasy writing”. Nonetheless, Mullally argued that there are feminist messages in Dahl’s work, even if they may be obscured: “The Witches offers up plenty of feminist complexities. The witches themselves are terrifying and vile things, and always women… The book is often viewed as sexist, but that assessment ignores one of the heroines of the story, the child narrator’s grandmother.”[205]
2023 revisions
In 2023, Puffin Books, which holds the rights to all Dahl’s children’s books, ignited controversy after they hired sensitivity readers to go through the original text of Dahl’s works, which led to hundreds of revisions to his books; The Telegraph published a list of many of these changes.[206] The move was supported by a number of authors, most notably by Joanne Harris, chair of the Society of Authors, but drew many more critical responses.[207] Several public figures, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, author Salman Rushdie, and Queen Camilla all spoke out against the changes.[208][209][210][211] It was reported that when Dahl was alive, he had spoken out very strongly against any changes ever being made to any of his books.[212][213] On 23 February 2023, Puffin announced it would release an unedited selection of Dahl’s children’s books as ‘The Roald Dahl Classic Collection’, stating “We’ve listened to the debate over the past week which has reaffirmed the extraordinary power of Roald Dahl’s books” and “recognise the importance of keeping Dahl’s classic texts in print.”[214][215]
Filmography
Writing roles
Year Title Role Notes
1950 Suspense Story 1 episode
1952 CBS Television Workshop
Lux Video Theatre
1954 Philip Morris Playhouse
Danger
1955 Star Tonight
Cameo Theatre
1958 Suspicion
1958–61 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 7 episodes
1961 ‘Way Out 1 episode
1962 That Was the Week That Was
1964 36 Hours Feature film
1965–67 Thirty-Minute Theatre 3 episodes
1967 You Only Live Twice Screenplay Feature film
1968 Late Night Horror Writer 1 episode
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Screenplay Feature film
Jackanory 10 episodes
1971 The Road Builder Feature film
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Story/screenplay
1979–88 Tales of the Unexpected Writer/story 26 episodes
1985 The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents Story 1 episode
1989 The BFG Feature film
The Book Tower Writer 1 episode
Danny, the Champion of the World Story TV movie
Presenting roles
Year Title Role Notes
1961 ‘Way Out Host 5 episodes
1965 Thirty-Minute Theatre Narrator 1 episode
Non-presenting appearances
Year Title Role Notes
1969 The 41st Annual Academy Awards Himself Audience member
1978 Read All About It 1 episode
This Is Your Life 1 episode
1979–85 Tales of the Unexpected 32 episodes
1989 Going Live! 1 episode
Publications
Notes
^ Norwegian: [ˈrùːɑɫ ˈdɑːɫ],[216][217] commonly pronounced in English as ROH-əld DAHL.[218]
References
^ “Roald Dahl British author”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^ Sturrock 2010, p. 19.
^ Jump up to: a b “Penguin to publish “classic” Roald Dahl books after “censorship” backlash”. www.cbsnews.com. 24 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Jump up to: a b Nunis 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h “Once upon a time, there was a man who liked to make up stories …” The Independent. 12 December 2010. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c “Roald Dahl centenary: ‘Tremendous things’ promised for 2016”. BBC News. BBC. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b “Fans gather for Dahl celebration”. BBC. 13 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945”. The Times. 5 January 2008. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Freeman, Abigail (30 October 2021). “The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities 2021”. Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
^ Jump up to: a b c “Britain celebrates first Roald Dahl Day”. today.com. NBC News. Associated Press. 13 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Criado 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Hamlin 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b de Castella 2011.
^ Berntsen, Erik (21 October 2020). “Harald Dahl b. 1863 Sarpsborg, Østfold d. 1920 Wales: Erik Berntsens slektssider”. Erik Berntsens slektssider. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
^ Howard 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b “Roald Dahl Timeline • Roald Dahl Facts”. Roald Dahl Facts. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^ Palfrey 2006, p. 76.
^ Dahl, Roald (1999). “Min mor”. I Roald Dahls kjøkken. Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. p. 65. ISBN 8205256136.
^ Jump up to: a b “Roald Dahl – Biography”. BBC Wales. 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). “The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)”. MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
^ “Dahl, Harald”. probatesearchservice.gov. UK Government. 1920. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
^ Bratberg, Øivind (2016). “Utvandrere”. Roald Dahl: Grensesprengeren. Oslo: Dreyer. p. 23. ISBN 9788282651806.
^ Wheeler 2006, p. 9.
^ “First look at Roald & Beatrix starring Dawn French with special cameo from Bill Bailey, 17 November 2020”. Radio Times. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ “Peter Rabbit blazed a trail still well trod”. The Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ “When is Roald and Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse on TV?, 30 November 2020”. Radio Times. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ Jump up to: a b “Roald & Beatrix is a slow-burning, yet heart-warming Christmas tonic for fans of all ages, 24 December 2020”. Radio Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ “Blue plaque marks Dahl sweet shop” Archived 30 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^ Sharp 2005, p. 516.
^ “Matilda by Roald Dahl: Quentin Blake’s sketches and original artwork”. British Library. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ “Dahl’s childhood sweetshop and its influence on his books”. BBC News. 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ Ayto 2012, p. 154.
^ “Roald Dahl’s School Days”. BBC Wales. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
^ Readers: Donald Sturrock and Rory Kinnear, Abridged by: Katrin Williams, Producer: Duncan Minshull (5 June 2016). “Book of the Week, Love from Boy – Roald Dahl’s Letters to His Mother”. Book of the Week. BBC Radio. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
^ Dahl 2013a, pp. 85–161.
^ Sturrock, Donald (8 August 2010). “Roald Dahl’s schooldays were filled with the ritual cruelty of fagging for older boys and with terrible beatings”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^ “WEB LINKS: corporal punishment in British schools”. www.corpun.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
^ “Boarding School Magic”. Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
^ Treglown 2016, Ch.2 note 28.
^ Dahl 2013a, p. 178.
^ Liukkonen, Petri. “Roald Dahl”. Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
^ Roald Dahl – Penguin UK Authors Archived 1 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Penguin UK
^ Shavick 1997, p. 12.
^ “Repton School ‘helped inspire Dahl’ to write Charlie”. BBC. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ Roald Dahl (derivative work) and Quentin Blake (2005). Roald Dahl’s Incredible Chocolate Box. ISBN 978-0-14-131959-9.
^ Dahl 2013a, pp. 156–158.
^ Dahl 2013a, pp. 80–82.
^ Dahl 2013a, p. 213.
^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 93–94.
^ “Roald Dahl (British author)”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Dahl 2013a, p. 217.
^ Dahl 2013b, p. 23.
^ Sturrock 2010, p. 116.
^ Jump up to: a b “No. 34964”. The London Gazette. 8 October 1940. p. 5907.
^ Sturrock 2010, p. 120.
^ Jump up to: a b c Conant 2008, p. 3.
^ Sturrock, Donald (9 August 2010). “Roald Dahl: the plane crash that gave birth to a writer”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Warren 1988, pp. 12, 87.
^ Dahl 2013b, p. 103.
^ Thomas 2003, p. 36.
^ Dahl 2013b, p. 151.
^ Dahl, Roald (1986). Going Solo. London: Jonathan Cape, p. 193.
^ Dahl, Going Solo.
^ “Roald Dahl: The fighter pilot”. Roald Dahl.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^ “No. 35292”. The London Gazette. 30 September 1941. p. 5664.
^ Sturrock 2010, p. 163.
^ Sturrock 2010, p. 165.
^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 163–165.
^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 166–167.
^ Sturrock 2010, p. 167.
^ Dahl 2013b.
^ Jump up to: a b Dietsch, Deborah K. (1 December 2013). “Roald Dahl Slept Here: From attaché to author”. The Washington Post Magazine. p. 10. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^ Head 2006, p. 269.
^ Jump up to: a b c d The Marvellous World of Roald Dahl. BBC Studios. 2016
^ “No. 35791”. The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 November 1942. p. 5037.
^ Schoeck 2006, p. 221.
^ MacDonald 2001, p. 249.
^ MacDonald 2001, p. 243.
^ “No. 37681”. The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 August 1946. p. 4054.
^ Shores & Williams 2008, p. 206.
^ Martin Chilton (18 November 2010) The 25 best children’s books Archived 15 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Daily Telegraph
^ “‘Dad also needed happy dreams’: Roald Dahl, his daughters and the BFG”. The Daily Telegraph. 6 August 2010. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Water on the Brain”. MedGadget: Internet Journal of Emerging Medical Technologies. 15 July 2005. Archived from the original on 22 May 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2006.
^ Larner 2008, p. 22.
^ Jump up to: a b “Roald Dahl on the death of his daughter”. The Telegraph. No. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ Singh, Anita (7 August 2010) “Roald Dahl’s secret notebook reveals heartbreak over daughter’s death” Archived 2 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
^ Gonzalez, Robbie (31 January 2015). “Read Roald Dahl’s Powerful Pro-Vaccination Letter”. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c “Roald Dahl on God: The day I lost faith in ‘the Boss'”. The Telegraph. No. 6 August 2010. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
^ Farrell 1971.
^ David Thomson (9 August 2010). “Patricia Neal: a beauty that cut like a knife”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b McCarthy, James (12 November 2008). “We thought we could keep our affair secret, says Roald Dahl’s second wife”. walesonline. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^ “1980s – Roald Dahl”. www.roalddahl.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
^ Day, Elizabeth (9 November 2008). “My years with Roald. Felicity Dahl talks to Elizabeth Day”. The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019..
^ Pearson 2004, p. 16.
^ “Queen’s honours refused”. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Roald Dahl among hundreds who turned down Queen’s honours Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Walesonline (also published in the Western Mail), 27 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
^ “The New Elizabethans – Roald Dahl”. BBC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
^ “Roald Dahl to be posthumously honoured with a Gold Blue Peter badge”. BBC. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
^ Ruffin 2006, p. 17.
^ Jump up to: a b Donald 2008, p. 147.
^ Sasser 1971, p. 1094.
^ Solomon 2016, p. 69.
^ Tanner, Nick (20 December 2006). “Dahl’s Gremlins fly again, thanks to historian’s campaign”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Maunder 2007, p. 96.
^ “Roald Dahl Day: From Tales of the Unexpected to Switch Bitch, Dahl’s undervalued stories for adults”. The Independent. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Mottram 2006, p. 95.
^ “Hitchcock on TV: his 10 best episodes”. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
^ “English Gypsy caravan, Gypsy Wagon, Gypsy Waggon and Vardo: Photograph Gallery 1”. Gypsywaggons.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
^ Dahl 2010, p. 13.
^ “Matilda statue stands up to President Donald Trump”. BBC. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b c Maunder 2007, p. 417.
^ “Tales of the Unexpected (1979–88)”. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Wes Anderson to Direct Roald Dahl’s ‘Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ for Netflix with Benedict Cumberbatch”. IndieWire. 7 January 2022. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
^ Jump up to: a b Schweitzer 1985, p. 125.
^ Jump up to: a b Sally Williams (12 September 2006) “A plateful of Dahl” Archived 24 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
^ Books magazine, Volumes 5–7. Publishing News Ltd. 1991. p. 35. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b c “Why we love the mischievous spirit of Roald Dahl”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^ McCall 2013, p. 166.
^ “Esio Trot review – Dench sparkles, Hoffman is perfect”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^ “‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ movie review: Wes Anderson joyfully re-creates Roald Dahl’s foxy family”. The Star-Ledger. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
^ Marlow 2009, p. 46.
^ Volvovski, Rothman & Lamothe 2014, p. 28.
^ “Roald Dahl’s daughter on when “The BFG” was a bedtime story”. www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
^ Jump up to: a b c d “Dahl’s squishous words get their own dictionary”. BBC. 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ “Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rule Book (TV Movie 2007)”. IMDb. 22 September 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
^ AV guide, Volumes 77–82. Scranton Gillette Communications. 1998. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Collin, Robbie (18 February 2021). “‘Sean Connery? He never stood anyone a round’: Roald Dahl’s love-hate relationship with Hollywood”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
^ Roald Dahl Day: my glimpse into the great writer’s imagination Archived 11 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2014
^ Liz Buckingham, trustee for the Roald Dahl Museum, quoted in Tom Bishop: Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Film Plot Archived 8 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, July 2005
^ Tom Bishop (July 2005) “Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Film Plot” Archived 8 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News.
^ Gould, Gordon (5 September 1971). “His fables for children give ‘Mr Patricia Neal’ edge in Dahl house”. The Los Angeles Times. p. 12.
^ Craats 2014, p. 1957.
^ Jump up to: a b “World Book Day 2019: Roald Dahl’s 10 best children’s books, from Matilda to The Twits”. The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
^ “How Dylan Thomas’s writing shed inspired Roald Dahl”. BBC. 18 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ “Roald Dahl: young tales of the unexpected”. The Daily Telegraph. 30 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Roald Dahl”. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Mother: Sofie Dahl {influence upon} Roald Dahl”. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Way Out (TV Series 1961)”. IMDb. 8 January 2005. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “The Paley Center for Media: Way Out”. The Paley Center for Media. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ McCann 2006, p. 156
^ “BFI: Film and TV Database – Tales of the Unexpected”. BFI. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Terrace 1985, p. 406.
^ “Deaths England and Wales 1984–2006”. Findmypast.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
^ “A giant peach of a property in Dahl country”. The Times. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
^ McElmeel 1999, p. 114.
^ Schmadel 2003, p. 519.
^ “MPC/MPO/MPS Archive”. Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
^ “Roald Dahl and the Chinese chip shop”. walesonline. 27 March 2009. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity”. Marvellouschildrenscharity.org. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
^ Clarie Heald (11 June 2005) “Chocolate doors thrown open to Dahl” Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News.
^ “Roald Dahl won children’s hearts by co-conspiring against adults”. Deutsche Welle. 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
^ “David Walliams up for Roald Dahl award”. BBC News. 17 September 2010. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “The Roald Dahl Funny Prize”. booktrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b “South East Wales | Blue plaque marks Dahl sweet shop”. BBC News. 14 September 2009. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
^ “Roald Dahl plaque for ‘Weston-super-Mud'”. BBC News. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
^ Flood, Alison (13 September 2010). “Roald Dahl Day expands into full month of special treats”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ “Roald Dahl Day celebrations”. Roald Dahl Museum (roalddahlmuseum.org). Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Roald Dahl’s 90th Birthday!, Random House UK. Retrieved 20 September 2007. Archived 5 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ “Britain’s top ten children’s literature superstars” Archived 6 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2017
^ “UK world’s best selling children author on Gibraltar stamps”. World Stamp News (worldstampnews.com). 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
^ Flood, Alison (9 January 2012). “Roald Dahl stamps honour classic children’s author”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2012. Quentin Blake’s famous illustrations of The Twits, Matilda and Fantastic Mr Fox all feature on a new series of stamps from the Royal Mail, issued to celebrate the work of Roald Dahl. Out from tomorrow, the stamps also show James and the Giant Peach and The Witches, while a triumphant Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is brandishing a golden ticket on the new first class stamp.
^ Burton 2006, p. 223.
^ “10 celebrities have picked their favourite Roald Dahl book ready for a public vote”. Wales Online. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
^ Holt, Karen, as told to. “Books That Made a Difference to Scarlett Johansson”. Oprah.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ “Oxford University Press to capture Roald Dahl’s naughtiest language for the first time”. Cardiff times. 7 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
^ “Dahl beats all competitors to collect honour as nation’s favourite author”. thegurdian. 10 March 2000. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ “The Big Read – Top 100 Books”. BBC. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014. First of two pages. Archived 2 September 2014 by the publisher.
Charles Dickens and Terry Pratchett led with five of the Top 100. The four extant Harry Potter novels all made the Top 25. The Dahl novels were Charlie, The BFG, Matilda, and The Twits.
^ “Roald Dahl voted best author in primary teachers survey” Archived 1 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2015. In this survey of primary school teachers Dahl also placed five books in the top ten: Charlie, The Twits, Danny the Champion of the World, The BFG, and George’s Marvellous Medicine.
^ Brown, Kat (2 March 2015). “Survey reveals 50 books that every child should read by 16” Archived 13 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 July 2015. “Roald Dahl is still king of children’s literature according to a survey for World Book Day.”
^ Higgins, Charlotte (31 January 2006). “From Beatrix Potter to Ulysses … what the top writers say every child should read”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ Sally Blakeney (1998). “The Golden Fairytale”. The Australian. Retrieved 10 October 2022
John Shirley (2001). “Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”. LocusOnline. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^ Bird, Elizabeth (7 July 2012). “Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results”. A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. School Library Journal (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com). Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
^ “100 Best Young-Adult Books”. Time. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2019. Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Danny the Champion of the World
^ “New data:annual public library loans figure revealed the UK’s most borrowed e-books for the first time”. infodocket. 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
^ “James Patterson remains UK libraries most borrowed author for 11th year”. The Guardian. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
^ “New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake’s 80th birthday”. The Guardian. 5 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
^ “Sir Peter Blake’s new Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s album cover”. BBC News. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ Phillips, Catherine. “Top ten best-selling Roald Dahl books revealed”. Worcester News. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
^ “Banksy and Yate-born JK Rowling make list of 50 greatest storytellers of all time” Archived 2 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Bristol Post. Retrieved 1 September 2017
^ “Norwegian Dreamliner takes off with new Jane Austen adorned tail fin for first time”. Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
^ Caswell, Mark. “Freddie Mercury unveiled as Norwegian’s latest tail fin hero”. Business Traveller.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
^ Amy Poulter (23 September 2021). “Netflix purchases Roald Dahl rights for $686 million”. Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
^ Bergeson, Samantha (15 June 2022). “‘Matilda’ Trailer: Emma Thompson Is Unrecognizable as Monstrous Miss Trunchbull in Roald Dahl Musical”. IndieWire. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
^ Clifton & Leroy 1983.
^ Dahl, Roald (August 1983). “Not A Chivalrous Affair”. Literary Review. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2020.(subscription required)
^ Jump up to: a b c Johnson, Paul (3 September 1983). “An affront to decency”. The Spectator. p. 15. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
^ Hulbert, Ann (1 May 1994). “Roald the Rotten”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
^ Jump up to: a b Treglown 2016, Ch.14 note 39.
^ Sheinman, Anna (15 September 2011). “Roald Dahl: Proudly antisemitic”. The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
^ Treglown 2016, p. 185, Ch.14 note 39.
^ Coren, Michael (26 August 1983). “From the NS archive: Tale of the unexpected: 26 August 1983: Roald Dahl continues to voice his anti-Semitism”. New Statesman. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Jump up to: a b Sherwood, Harriet (6 December 2020). “Roald Dahl’s family apologises for his antisemitism”. The Observer. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
^ Jump up to: a b Murphy, Simon (6 November 2018). “Royal Mint rejected Roald Dahl coin over antisemitic views”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
^ Kossoff, Julian (15 September 2011). “The dark side of Roald Dahl”. The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
^ Jump up to: a b Kerridge, Jake (7 November 2018). “The dark truth about Roald Dahl: how anti-Semitism tainted his work”. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
^ “Das Roald-Dahl-Museum in Great Missenden” Archived 29 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, dradio. (in German). 16 November 2008
^ Jump up to: a b Schwarts, Matthew S. (6 December 2020). “Roald Dahl Family Apologizes For Children’s Author’s Anti-Semitism”. NPR. National Public Radio (“npr”). Archived from the original on 8 December 2020.
^ The article on the npr.org web site (see the previous footnote) includes:
“the comment on the official Dahl website Archived 11 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine”
and
a 6 December 2020 report Archived 8 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine in The Sunday Times
^ Cameron, Eleanor (19 October 1972). “McLuhan, Youth, and Literature: Part I”. The Horn Book. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ Dahl, Roald (27 February 1973). “The Horn Book | “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”: A Reply”. The Horn Book. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ Cameron, Eleanor (19 April 1973). “A Reply to Roald Dahl”. The Horn Book. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ “Eleanor Cameron vs. Roald Dahl”. Roald Dahl Fans. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ Jump up to: a b Dirda, Michael (7 December 1990). “Opinion | Roald Dahl Also Left a Legacy of Bigotry (Published 1990)”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ “Think Twice about Roald Dahl”. Lilith Magazine. 27 September 1998. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ Mullally, Una. “Women, as written by Roald Dahl”. The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
^ “The rewriting of Roald Dahl”. The Telegraph. 24 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
^ Roy, Nilanjana (24 February 2023). “The case against rewriting Roald Dahl”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
^ Dellatto, Marisa (20 February 2023). “Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ And More”. Forbes. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
^ Zymeri, Jeff (21 February 2023). “Salman Rushdie Blasts ‘Absurd’ Censorship of Roald Dahl”. National Review. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
^ Honeycombe-Foster, Matt; Blanchard, Jack (21 February 2023). “UK’s Badenoch slams ‘problematic’ rewrites of classic Roald Dahl books”. Politico.eu. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
^ “Roald Dahl rewrites: edited language in books criticised as ‘absurd censorship'”. The Guardian. 20 February 2023. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
^ Sawer, Patrick (25 February 2023). “Roald Dahl warned ‘politically correct’ publishers – ‘change one word and deal with my crocodile'”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
^ Alberge, Dalya (25 February 2023). “Roald Dahl threatened publisher with ‘enormous crocodile’ if they changed his words”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
^ Jackson, Siba (24 February 2023). “Roald Dahl classic texts to be kept in print after outrage over changes to books”. Sky News. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Rackham, Annabel (24 February 2023). “Roald Dahl: Original books to be kept in print following criticism”. BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Lloyd, Brian (17 November 2016). “You’ve been pronouncing Roald Dahl’s name wrong for years”. Entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ White, Bethany (18 November 2016). “We’ve all been pronouncing Roald Dahl’s name wrong for years”. walesonline. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^ “NLS: Say How, A–D”. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
Sources
Ayto, John (2012). The Diner’s Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-964024-9. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
Burton, Tim (2006). Mark Salisbury (ed.). Burton on Burton (2nd Revised ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-571-22926-0.
Clifton, Tony; Leroy, Catherine (1983). God Cried. Quartet. ISBN 978-0-7043-2375-9. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Conant, Jennet (2008). The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-8032-4. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Craats, Rennay (2014). Roald Dahl. WEIGL. ISBN 978-1-4896-0676-1.
Criado, Elisa (29 August 2014). “Aldi removes Roald Dahl book from Australian stores”. The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Dahl, Roald (2013a) [1984]. Boy:tales of childhood. London: Penguin Group. ISBN 978-0-141-34986-2. OCLC 1193367039.
Dahl, Roald (2013b) [1986]. Going solo. London: Penguin Group. ISBN 978-0-14-01-0306-9. OCLC 1035312298.
de Castella, Tom (12 September 2011). “The darkness of Dahl”. BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Donald, Graeme (2008). Sticklers, Sideburns & Bikinis: The Military Origins of Everyday Words and Phrases. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-84603-300-1.
Farrell, Barry (1971). Pat and Roald. Dell Publishing. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Hamlin, Dominic (27 November 2015). “Roald Dahl’s greatest philosophical quotes ever”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Head, Dominic, ed. (2006). The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83179-6.
Howard, Philip (1 September 2017). “Dahl, Roald (1916–1990)”. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39827. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Larner, Andrew (2008). “Tales of the Unexpected: Roald Dahl’s Neurological Contributions” (PDF). Advances in Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation. Vol. 8, no. 1. ISSN 1473-9348. S2CID 163529827. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
McCall, Douglas (2013). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969–2012 (2nd ed.). McFarland. ISBN 9780786478118. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
MacDonald, Bill (2001). The True Intrepid: Sir William Stephenson and the Unknown Agents. Raincoast Books. ISBN 978-1-55192-418-2. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Marlow, Jean (2009). Audition Speeches for 6-16 Year Olds: 50+ audition pieces for actors and actresses. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4081-4107-6. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Maunder, Andrew (2007). The Facts on File Companion to the British Short Story. Infobase. ISBN 978-0-8160-7496-9.
McElmeel, Sharron L. (1999). “Roald Dahl”. 100 Most Popular Children’s Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1-56308-646-5.
Mottram, James (2006). The Sundance kids: how the mavericks took back Hollywood. Macmillan. ISBN 9780571222674.
Nunis, Vivienne (18 August 2016). “Roald Dahl: As popular – and profitable – as ever”. BBC World Service. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Palfrey, Colin (2006). Cardiff Soul: An Underground Guide to the City. Y Lolfa. ISBN 978-0-86243-909-5. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
Pearson, Lynn F. (2004). Discovering Famous Graves. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-0-7478-0619-6.[permanent dead link]
Ruffin, Frances E. (2006). Meet Roald Dahl. Rosen. ISBN 978-1-4042-3134-4.
Sasser, Sanford Jr., ed. (1971). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aviation and Space. Vol. 6. A.F.E. Press.
Schmadel, Lutz (2003). “(6223) Dahl”. Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. p. 519. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_5731. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
Schweitzer, Darrell (1985). Discovering Modern Horror Fiction. Wildside. ISBN 978-1-58715-010-4.
Sharp, Michael D. (2005). Popular Contemporary Writers. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-7601-6. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
Shavick, Andrea (1997). Roald Dahl: The Champion Storyteller. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-910440-6.
Schoeck, Ellen (October 2006). I Was There: A Century of Alumni Stories about the University of Alberta, 1906–2006. University of Alberta. ISBN 978-0-88864-464-0.
Shores, Christopher; Williams, Clive (2008). Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces of WWII. Vol. One. Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 978-1-898697-00-8. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Solomon, Tom (2016). Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Medicine. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9781781383469. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
Sturrock, Donald (2010). Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1416550822.
Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. VNR AG. ISBN 978-0-918432-61-2.
Thomas, Andrew (2003). Hurricane Aces 1941-45. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-84176-610-2.[permanent dead link]
Treglown, Jeremy (2016) [1994]. Roald Dahl: A Biography. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3859-1. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
Volvovski, Jenny; Rothman, Julia; Lamothe, Matt (2014). The Who, the What, and the When: 65 Artists Illustrate the Secret Sidekicks of History. Chronicle. ISBN 978-1-4521-3723-0. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
Warren, Alan (1988). Roald Dahl. Starmont House. ISBN 978-1-55742-013-8. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
Wheeler, Jill C. (2006). Roald Dahl. ABDO. ISBN 9781596797635.
Further reading
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roald Dahl.
.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Roald_Dahl
Roald Dahl
Contributors to Wikimedia projects85-108 minutes 6/8/2002
DOI: 10.1093/ref:odnb/39827, Show Details
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Dahl in April 1954
Born 13 September 1916
Cardiff, Wales
Died 23 November 1990 (aged 74)
Oxford, England
Occupation
Novelist
poet
screenwriter
Education
The Cathedral School, Llandaff
St Peter’s School, Weston-super-Mare
Repton School
Period 1942–1990
Genre Children’s literature
Spouse
Patricia Neal
(m. 1953; div. 1983)
Felicity Crosland
(m. 1983)
Children
Olivia
Tessa
Theo
Ophelia
Lucy
Relatives
Sophie Dahl (granddaughter)
Phoebe Dahl (granddaughter)
Nicholas Logsdail (nephew)
Signature
Roald Dahl signature.png
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Air Force
Years of service 1939–1946
Rank Squadron Leader
Unit No. 80 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars
Second World War
Battle of Greece
Syria-Lebanon Campaign
.
.
*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
.
.
.
👈👈👈☜*“DEAD LINGUISTICALLY ENGLISH WRITERS”* ☞ 👉👉👉
.
.
💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
.
.
*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
.
.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥