Welcome to the world of Roald Dahl by Jakub Tyluś

Roald Dahl (13.IX.1916 – 23.XI.1990)

Roald Dahl biography Roald Dahl desctribet his life in two books, „Boy” and „Going Solo”. The first volume deals with his childhood, the second one with his life after school.

Childhood Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13th His family was from Norway. His father died when Roald was just three. His mother, Sofie, was raising two stepchildren and her own four children and Roald was her only son. He loved stories and books. Roald wrote a secret diary from the age of eight.

School Roald had an unhappy time at school. From the age of seven to nine, he attended Llandaff Cathedral School. Then, when he was just nine years old he arrived St. Peter’s prep school in Weston – Super – Mare. When he was thirteen he started at Repton, a famous public school in Derbyshire. He really like sports, especially heavyweight boxing and squash. Dahl’s time at school had great influence on his writing.

War & Adventure At 18, rather than going to university, Roald joined the Public Schools Exploring Society’s expedition to Newfoundland. He then started work a salesman in Dar es Salaam. He was 23 when war broke out and signed up with the Royal Air Force in Nairobi. He was a pilot officer and was trained on the birdplane Gladiator fighters, mainly in Iraq. Eventually, he was sent home as an invalid but transferred, in 1942, to Washington as an air attach.

Roald Dahl’s Family Roald Dahl was married twice. His first wife was Patricia Neal, a very famous actress. After their marriage, in 1953, they divided their time between England and America. Roald and Patricia had five children together – Olivia, Theo, Tessa, Ophelia and Lucy. Roald’s stories for children grew out of the bedtime tales he made up each night for his own children. Roald’s second wife was Felicity “Liccy” Crosland. Although they were born in the very same street, in Llandaff, they did not meet until They married in 1983.

Writing In 1942 C S Forester, author of Captain Hornblower, took Roald to lunch. He hoped Roald would describe his version of the war, which Forester would write up for the SATURDAY EVENING POST. Roald chose to write about his experiences. Roald Dahl’s first book for children was THE GREMLINS, a picture book published in 1943 and adapted from a script written for Disney. Roald was never very keen on THE GREMLINS and didn’t really think of it as a children’s book. Roald’s career as a children’s book author began, after he had become a father himself. In the meantime, he devoted himself to writing short stories for adults with devilish twists in the tale.

The World’s Favourite Children’s Author Roald himself said “ I’m probably more pleased with my children’s books than with my adult short stories”. His first book was JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. The book was published in America in 1961 and the UK in His second book, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY also debuted in the USA (in 1964) before being published in the UK (1967).The most known and interesting of his books are: THE BFG,, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, THE TWITS, THE WITCHES, BOY and GOING SOLO, MATHILDA. His work has been translated into 34 languages, reaching everywhere from Estonia to Finland; from Greece to Japan.

Roald Dahl’s - Children books

Death & legacy Roald Dahl died in November 1990 at the of 74 of a rare blood disease, and was buried in the cemetery at the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul. He was buried with his snooker cues, some very good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw.

In his honour, the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery was opened at Buckinghamshire County Museum in nearby Aylesbury. In June 2005, the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre was opened in Great Missenden to celebrate the work of Roald Dahl and advance his work in literacy. On 14 September 2009 the first blue plaque in his honour was unveiled in Llandaff, Cardiff.

Roald Dahl’s Day The anniversary of Dahl’s birthday on 13 September has recently become widely celebrated as Roald Dahl Day.

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