Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl (born September 13, 1916, Llandaff, Wales—died November 23, 1990, Oxford, England) was a British writer who was a popular author of ingenious and irreverent children’s books. His best-known works include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) and Matilda (1988), both of which were adapted into popular films. Dahl’s first book, The Gremlins (1943), was written for Walt Disney but was largely unsuccessful. His service in the RAF influenced his first story collection, Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying (1946), a series of military tales that was warmly received by critics but did not sell well. He achieved best-seller status with Someone like You (1953; rev. ed. 1961), a collection of macabre stories for adults, which was followed by Kiss, Kiss (1959), which focused on stormy romantic relationships. Matilda Matilda Book jacket of the 2002 edition of Matilda (1988), written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. Dahl then turned primarily to writing the children’s books that would give him lasting fame. Unlike most other books aimed at a young audience, Dahl’s works had a darkly comic nature, frequently including gruesome violence and death. His villains were often malevolent adults who imperiled precocious and noble child protagonists. James and the Giant Peach (1961; film 1996), written for his own children, was a popular success, as was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), which was made into the films Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). His other works for young readers include Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970; film 2009), Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972), The Enormous Crocodile (1978), The BFG (1982; films 1989 and 2016), and The Witches (1983; film 1990). One of his last such books, Matilda (1988), was adapted for film (1996 and 2022) and the stage (2010).

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