Roald Dahl

Disgrifiad

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was born in Llandaff. His Norwegian parents moved to Britain for their children's schooling, and Dahl studied at the Cathedral School in Llandaff. This was a largely unhappy time, which was followed by a series of private schools where he developed interests in literature and photography. After school he joined the Shell oil company, where from 1938 he worked in the east African republic of Tanganyika (later Tanzania). During World War Two he served as a fighter pilot. A near fatal crash in north Africa in September 1940 inspired Dahl's first published short story. He began writing in earnest after being transferred to Washington as an Assistant Air Attach, and was soon published by the Saturday Evening Post. His great successes came from his children's books, such as The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), Matilda (1988), Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (1964) and James And The Giant Peach (1961), which were often illustrated by Quentin Blake. These are essential reading for children and are widely loved to this day by successive generations. Dahl also wrote over sixty macabre short stories for adults, the most famous of which; Tales Of The Unexpected; became a successful television series. Dahl also wrote screenplays for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and he adapted his own novel for the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Numerous other film and cartoon adaptations followed his death in 1990. Dahl is buried in Buckinghamshire, where he settled in later life. A museum in Great Missenden, honouring his life and work, opened in 2005.