Biography of Roald Dahl. Life is like a fairy tale: the amazing story of the great visionary Roald Dahl

"The Outrageous" Roald Dahl

The books of the English writer Roald Dahl (Dahl Roald, 1916 - 1990) are firmly on the bestseller list not only in English-speaking countries, but throughout the world. If scary stories for adults are an acquired taste, then children's books, imbued with a spirit of rebellion and open to rampant imagination that borders on the virulent, are simply adored by young readers.

Adults never approved of this addiction. And it’s not surprising: children’s rebellion in Dahl’s books is always directed against the world of adults - so uncomfortable for a child, cruel and hypocritical. From the very first books, suspecting Dal dangerous enemy, adults - teachers, critics, parents - took up arms against the “harmful” writer. “No contemporary children's writer can match Roald Dahl's daring, excitement, rawness and fun,” critics wrote. He was compared to the “Pipe Player of Hamelin”, who, as the legend says, captivated the entire child population of this German town with his pipe... who knows where. But it is known what he led them away from - from the boredom of a respectable burgher life, from bourgeois hypocrisy, stupidity and greed. The comparison turned out to be accurate!

But for Dahl, books for children were neither fun nor literary hooliganism. He wrote 17 of them, and put his soul into each and brought (in a form accessible to children) his thoughts about life - funny and tragic at the same time.

The writer's biography is no less fascinating and instructive than his books. Dahl's life was full of dizzying and dangerous adventures, amazing victories and tragic defeats.

Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in Wales. His parents are Norwegians who moved to the UK. When the boy was four years old, his father died. This was the first life test, which was followed by many others. But perhaps the most serious of them, which determined both the fate and the position of Dahl as a writer, were the years spent in closed prisons, notorious for their cruel orders. British schools. He later called these schools "the greatest torture in the world." The famous Miss Trunchbull, who tormented Matilda, was not at all artistic exaggeration, but only revenge for childhood fear and humiliation. IN school years Roald's successes in sports were noted, but at the same time he was directly pointed out to his complete lack of literary abilities. On one of his school essays, the teacher wrote: “I have never met a student who managed to write the complete opposite of what he thinks. He is unable to put his thoughts on paper.”

But his career after school began brilliantly: Dahl joins the Shell oil company and goes... to Africa!

In 1939, World War II begins, and Dahl becomes a military pilot. He later joked that he chose military aviation because service in the navy required long absences from home, and the infantry involved too much marching. Alas, Dahl soon had an accident, his plane burned down, and he ended up in a hospital bed with severe injuries that would make themselves felt for many years to come. But despite his short aviation career, future writer managed to shoot down five enemy vehicles.

In 1942, Roald Dahl joined the service... in intelligence and went to the USA. Yes, yes, he was a real undercover spy, which later helped him write the script for one of the James Bond films. There, in the USA, Dahl began to write, and his first success came to him. His works were praised by the famous American writer Cecil Scott Forester. Initially, Dahl's books were published in the USA, and only after a delay of several years appeared in the UK.

People who joke a lot rarely live an easy and cloudless life. Quite the contrary. Dahl's life was both “cloudy” and “extraordinary.” And we had to not only descend from the clouds, but also fall. But why should the reader think about this? The reader should have fun...(From the reviews of students of the 57th Moscow school)

In America, R. Dahl managed to make acquaintances with many celebrities - Ernest Hemingway (who significantly influenced the formation literary style young writer), John O'Hara, Leonard Bernstein and the popular actress Patricia Neal, who later became his wife. They had five children. But family life Dalia was not cloudless; there were many bitter and even tragic moments in her. However, the writer had not only perseverance and courage, but also amazing ability to extract “useful and good” from the most severe trials. So, while struggling with a serious brain disease that struck his son Theo, Dahl invented a unique valve that helped remove excess liquid. The writer had to endure the death of his daughter and the serious illness of his wife: Patricia was paralyzed for many years, but was still able to find the strength (with the enormous support of her husband) and overcome the illness. Roald Dahl, who himself had experienced grief and despair, sought to help people in trouble. He organized a Fund to help patients with chest and heart diseases, which still exists today.

Knowing Dahl’s fortitude and courage, you are not surprised that it was during the darkest period of his life that he wrote funny children’s books - “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “James and the Giant Peach.” His heroes are child rebels rebelling against the tyranny of adults. Their protest sometimes takes quite brutal forms, which cannot but hurt “ subtle souls“Adults, but children are attracted not by the inexorability and inventiveness of revenge, but by the idea of the need to fight for the restoration of justice, and their main weapon in this fight is their own imagination. The writer encourages children to believe in their own strengths, and, without making allowances for age, demands that they use these strengths - in the name of goodness and justice.

A happy meeting was the writer's acquaintance with the English illustrator Quentin Blake, whose graphic style - cheerful, grotesque and dynamic - best matches the spirit of Dahl's books. It was Blake who created the illustrations for Dahl’s most beloved book, the story of the Big and Friendly Giant “The BFG.”

However, despite his boundless popularity among young readers, Roald Dahl was bypassed during his lifetime by official recognition and was not awarded a single literary award in Great Britain. But he did not consider himself deprived: he received the most important thing - the love of children.

I'm sure I can knock on any house where there are children - in the USA, Great Britain, Holland, Germany, France - and say: “I'm out of gas. Could you buy me a cup of tea? And they'll probably recognize me. And This is my main joy."

Roald Dahl official website - www.roalddahl.com
The Roald Dahl Museum, created after the death of the writer, is a place of amazing discoveries and adventures: www.roalddahlmuseum.org

Books by Roald Dahl:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. – M.: Zakharov, 2000, 2004.
Matilda. – M.: Zakharov, 2002.
Fantastic Mr Fox. – M.: Jupiter-Inter, 2003.
Roald Fantastic Mr Fox. – M.: Zakharov, 2004.
The BFG, or the Big Friendly Giant. – M.: Rosman-Press, 2005.
Danny is a world champion. – M.: Rosman-Press, 2005.
Matilda. – M.: Rosman-Press, 2005.
Charlie and the big glass cable car. – M.: Rosman-Press, 2005.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. – M.: Rosman-Press, 2005.
James and the Miracle Peach. /Translation from English by Elena Surits. - M.: Samokat, 2012.
Amazing Mr. Fox / Translation from English by Elena Surits. - M.: Samokat, 2012.
Huge crocodile / Translation from English by Dina Krupskaya. - M.: Samokat, 2012.

Roald Dahl- English writer Norwegian origin, poet and screenwriter.

Born in Cardiff September 13, 1916. His parents were Norwegians, and Roald himself was named after Roald Amundsen, the national hero of Norway at the time.

In 1920, at the age of 3, he lost his older sister and then his father, within a matter of weeks. After this, his mother decided to move to England.
When Roald turned seven, his mother sent him to Llandaff Cathedral School, where he spent two years. However, child abuse by the school's headmaster forces Sophie to transfer the boy to St. Peter's Boarding School in Weston-super-Mare, where he studied until he was 13.

In 1929, when Roald was thirteen, the family moved to Kent. Dahl continued his studies at Repton School (Derbyshire). Repton was even worse than St. Peter's. The morals and orders that reigned in Repton will be described by Dahl in the story “ Foxley the Steed».

Immediately after graduating from the boarding school, Roald took part in an expedition to the Arctic Circle, to the island of Spitsbergen.

He decided not to go to university and in 1933 got a job at Shell. At the age of twenty, he went as a Shell employee to East Africa, to Tanganyika (now Tanzania).

During World War II, he enlisted as a fighter pilot in Nairobi, Kenya. He fought with fascist aces in the skies over Libya, Syria, and Greece. Roald ended the war as a colonel.

During the war years, Dahl published his first story, “Gremlins” (1943). This story was later adapted into a sensational film of the same name (1984).
After the war, Dahl devoted himself entirely to creativity: he wrote stories, novels, plays, both for adults and for children.

In the early 1950s, Dahl moved to New York and began publishing periodically in " The New Yorker" and Collier's, he moves among celebrities. At a party in 1951, he meets rising Hollywood star Patricia Neal, whom he marries in 1953 (they had five children - Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia and Lucy).

However, Roald and Patricia divorced in 1983, and later that year Dahl married Felicity D'Abro, with whom he lived for the rest of his life.

Roald Dahl wrote the book “James and the Giant Peach” (1961) for his children and did not intend to publish it until his family persuaded him to take the manuscript to the editor. After the huge success of this book, Dahl continued to write children's books (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda).

Roald Dahl also wrote two autobiographical books, Boy, about early years life and “Going solo” about his work in Africa and participation in World War II.

Roald Dahl (in some translations - Roald Dahl; English Roald Dahl; September 13, 1916 - November 23, 1990) was an English writer of Norwegian origin, author of novels, fairy tales and short stories, poet and screenwriter. His stories are famous for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their lack of sentimentality and often very dark humor. Winner of numerous awards and prizes in literature.

Childhood and youth

Roald Dahl was born at Villa Marie on Fairwater Road in Llandaff (Cardiff, Wales, British Empire) on September 13, 1916, to Norwegian parents Harald Dahl and Sophie Magdalena Dahl (née Hesselberg). The father was originally from Sarpsborg and moved to England in the 1880s. Sophie moved there in 1911 and married Harald that same year. Roald is named after the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, the national hero of Norway. He had three sisters - Astri, Alhild and Elsa. Born in England and speaking English from childhood, Dahl and his sisters communicated in Norwegian at home with their parents. At birth, all four were baptized in the Norwegian Church of Cardiff, of which their parents were parishioners.

In 1920, when Roald was 3 years old, his older sister, 7-year-old Astri, died of appendicitis, and a few weeks later, while fishing in the Antarctic, the father of the family died from pneumonia at the age of 57. Roald's widowed mother, Sophie, who was carrying Asta at the time, is left alone with four daughters and two sons. Sophie did not return to her relatives in Norway and remained in England, since Harald really wanted his children to receive an education in English schools which he considered the best.

When Roald turned seven, his mother sent him to Llandaff Cathedral School, where he spent two years. However, child abuse at the hands of the school's headmaster forces Sophie to transfer the boy to St. Peter's Boarding School in Weston-super-Mare. where he studied until he was 13 years old. This was the nearest private school that could be reached by ferry across the Bristol Channel. The time spent at this school was difficult for Roald. He was very homesick and wrote to his mother every week, but never told her about his misfortune, being under pressure from school censorship. It was only after his mother's death in 1967 that he learned that she had saved all his letters by tying stacks of envelopes with green ribbons. Roald described all his childhood adventures - bullying from teachers and staff - in the book “Boy” (1984).

The boy stood out among his peers for his height (the adult Roald Dahl was 6 feet 6 inches or 1.98 m tall), and for his success in cricket and swimming, but not in his studies. Roald read Kipling, Haggard, Henty, absorbing the heroism, masculinity and love of adventure that later influenced his life and work.

In 1929, when Roald was thirteen, the family moved to Kent. Dahl continued his studies at Repton School (Derbyshire). Repton was even worse than St. Peter's. Hazing flourished here - junior schoolchildren served as personal slaves to high school students who carried out bullying and torture. The fact that the former headmaster, Geoffrey Fisher (who later became Archbishop of Canterbury), a sadist who beat children with a wooden hammer, crowned Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey twenty years later (1953), led Dahl to doubt the existence of God. The morals that reigned in Repton will be described by Dahl in the story “Foxley the Horse”.

Of course, it wasn't all bad. Repton schoolchildren would occasionally receive a whole box of chocolate from Cadbury to test, and Roald even got the idea of working in the chocolate company's invention department. Memories of chocolate led him to create the famous book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

After graduating from college (1934), the future writer, as part of a group of schoolchildren, went to explore Newfoundland as a photographer. Photography was another serious hobby for Dahl in subsequent years. Dahl's university education did not seduce him; he chose a career business man. After completing a two-year training in England at the Shell oil company, he received an offer to go to Egypt, but refused. In 1936, as an employee of Shell, Dahl went where he wanted - to East Africa, to Tanganyika (now Tanzania).

As Dahl writes (“Going Solo”), East Africa gave him a lot of adventures. A poisonous snake (a green or black mamba, whose bite is fatal) could crawl into the house, and every now and then people would be attacked by lions. It was in Africa that Dahl received his first fee by publishing in a local newspaper a story about how a lion attacked a woman.

War time

In 1939, the Second World War began, all the British were registered and temporarily turned into British soldiers supervising immigrants from Germany. The outbreak of World War II found Dahl in Dar es Salaam. From there, driving six hundred miles in an old Ford, he reached Nairobi (Kenya) and volunteered for the Royal Air Force. Dahl learns to fly military aircraft. After eight weeks of initial training and six months of flight instruction, the RAF deemed Dahl ready for battle. Unfortunately, Dahl's first flight into a war zone in 1940 resulted in a crash in the Libyan Desert. He flew his Gladiator plane to join Squadron 80 in the Western Desert ("No Thing"). But the coordinates he was given were wrong, and Dahl made an emergency landing when he was running out of fuel. The biplane's landing gear caught a boulder, and the Gladiator's nose crashed into the sand. Dahl was able to get out of the burning plane, but his skull was pierced and he was blinded for many days. He was rescued by three brave men from the Suffolk Regiment. After spending many months in various army hospitals, he returned to service only in the spring of 1941. Dahl flew in the skies of Greece, where he shot down two German bombers, in Egypt, in Palestine. Dahl made several flights on some days, but more and more often he was tormented by headaches. Of the twenty people who trained with Dahl, seventeen were later killed, and Roald could have been among them, but fate saved him - not for the military, but for literary exploits.

Soon Dahl was declared unfit to continue his flying service due to an injury received in Libya. He was sent home to England, where in 1942 he was assigned to Washington as assistant military attaché to the British Embassy. That's where it started writing career. He was encouraged to write by the famous novelist S.S. Forester, who suggested that Dahl try to tell in writing about his adventures in the air and on the ground. Several of the aspiring writer's stories were published first in the Saturday Evening Post newspaper, and then in Harper's Magazine, Ladies' Home Journal, Town and Country and others.

Among Dahl's duties was anti-fascist propaganda in order to interest the American allies in helping the British. Roald writes his story about an "unknown pilot" who crashes ("Shot Down Over Libya", 1942), with his editors convincing him that the pilot must have been shot down by enemy fire. Another story ("Gremlin Lore") was about gremlins, mythical creatures that may have been corrupting RAF aircraft. Disney liked this story, and he even wanted to make a film, but only the book for children "Walt Disney: The Gremlins (A Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl)" appeared - Dahl's first book. About pilots and Dahl’s first book for adults (“Over to You” - “I’m moving to reception”, 1945). Noel Coward wrote about her in his diary that she “stirred the most deep feelings, which owned me during the war and which I was very afraid of losing.” The war also inspired Roald Dahl to write autobiographical book"Flying Solo"

Post-war time

In 1945, Dahl returned to England to his mother. Living a simple life next to Sophie, he writes a novel about the possible nuclear war(“Sometime Never”, 1948). The novel failed, but it was the first book about nuclear threat, published in the USA after Hiroshima. This is Dahl's only book that has never been reprinted. He's better at telling stories.

In 1953, publisher Alfred Knopf became interested in Dahl's stories and published a book of his short stories ("Someone Like You" - a cycle of stories "Claude's Dog", etc.). Critics drew attention to Dahl, who unanimously noted the “demonic” vision of the world, akin to what is characteristic of the works of the classic English literature Saki (Hector Hugh Munro, 1870-1916), master of mystification and absurdity. The New York Times saw in Dahl a writer with "a grotesque imagination, an ability to see an anecdotal situation turn out in the most unexpected way, a cruel sense of humor that best inflicts wounds, and a precisely calculated, economical style." Dahl receives the prestigious E. Poe Prize, the best mystical author America (1954).

Since the late 1950s, Dahl continued what he started at the start creative career attempts to establish himself as a film scriptwriter. He wrote the scripts for the films “You Only Live Twice” (1967) with Sean Connery as James Bond (based on the novel by Ian Fleming, a great friend of Dahl’s) and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (“ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", 1968). In total, about twenty television and feature films have been made based on Dahl’s scripts or works (among the directors are A. Hitchcock and K. Tarantino).

With the publication in 1959 of his next collection of stories, “Kiss Kiss” (“Kiss”), Dahl’s reputation as a master of black humor was firmly established - the word “master” in this definition certainly plays a decisive role, because, first of all, he is a wonderful storyteller. Dahl received the prestigious Poe Prize for the second time (1959). Dahl's stories began to appear in translations into Italian, Dutch, French, and German. Collections of his stories appear in countless editions. Retelling the content of these stories is a futile task, because these are not just plots on which dialogues and various kinds are strung artistic descriptions. They are distinguished by a manner inherent only to Dahl; in the retelling, the spirit and style, irony and subtle humor felt in every phrase will inevitably be lost. In 1961, Dahl participated in the creation of the television series “Way Out” (14 episodes).

Family

In the early 1950s, Dahl moved to New York and began publishing periodically in The New Yorker and Collier, he moved among celebrities. At a party in 1951, he met rising Hollywood star Patricia Neal (who won an Oscar in 1964), whom he married in 1953 (they subsequently had five children - Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia and Lucy).

When four-month-old Theo was hit in a stroller by a New York taxi in December 1960, the baby developed hydrocephalus, leading his father to help develop the WDT valve, a device that alleviates painful conditions.

In November 1962, daughter Olivia died of measles encephalitis, after which Roald became a supporter of immunization and dedicated his book “The BFG, or the Great Friendly Giant” (1982) to his deceased daughter.

In 1965, wife Patricia suffered a cerebral aneurysm while pregnant with their fifth child, Lucy. Loving husband took control of his wife’s rehabilitation, so that the actress was able to not only walk and talk again, but also revived her career.

However, in 1983, Roald and Patricia divorced (B. Farrell wrote the book “Pat and Roald” about the difficult life together of the spouses, which served as the basis for the film “The Story of Patricia Neal”), and later that year Dahl married Felicity D'Abro, with which he lived until the end of his life.

The father of the family, Roald Dahl, writes a lot for children. Dahl did not intend to publish the book “James and the Giant Peach” (1961), but his family persuaded him to take the manuscript to the editor. After the huge success of this book, Dahl continued to write children's books - these are the bestsellers "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (1964, numerous awards, including Millennium-2000), "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" (1972), "Danny - World Champion" (1975), “The BFG, or the Great and Good Giant” (1982) and other works that were awarded many literary prizes. His mystical stories seventies were awarded the third award best author America in this genre (1980).

Last years

In the last years of his life, two autobiographical novels were published from Dahl’s pen: “Boy. Stories about Childhood" (1984) and "Flying Alone" (1986).

Roald Dahl died on November 23, 1990 at the age of 74 in Oxford (England), and was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul according to the Viking rite with his favorite objects - billiard cues, a bottle of Burgundy, chocolates, pencils.

Charity

Roald Dahl helped seriously ill children. Wonderful children's charitable foundation Dalia continues her work today, helping thousands of children with neurological and hematological diseases. The Foundation provides all possible support to seriously ill children, providing nurses and necessary medical equipment, and also ensures that the children of Great Britain grow up cheerful and happy. In addition, the foundation funds important scientific research to help children around the world cope with devastating diseases. A tenth of all royalties for all Dahl’s books that have been published, are being published and will be published goes to replenish the fund.
The writer lived and worked near London, in a village in Buckinghamshire. it is now home to the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Center, designed to encourage a love of reading and writing. The heart of the museum is a unique archive of Dahl’s letters and manuscripts. Two galleries provide a fascinating insight into the writer's life. The museum also houses an imaginatively interactive Story Center.

Books

Cycles of works

Claud, Claud's Dog

The Ratcatcher (1953)
Rummins / Rummins (Rummins; Haystack) (1953)
Mr. Hoddy / Mr. Hoddy (1953)
Mr. Physi / Mr. Feasey (Dog Race // Jackie, Claude and Mr. Feasey; Mister Feasey) (1953)
The Mystery of the Universe / Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (Sweet Mystery of Life) (1974)
Chippendale's Fourth Chest of Drawers / Parson's Pleasure (The Clergyman's Joy; The Parson's Walks; As you please, the Parson!; The Parson's Joys; The Parson's Delight) (1958)
World Champion / The Champion of the World(Sitting Pretty // Champion; Poachers' Champion) (1959)

Charlie / Charlie

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Golden Ticket, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) (1964)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator; Charlie and the Great Glass Cable Car) (1972)

Uncle Oswald

Night Guest / The Visitor (Stop in the Desert; Guest) (1965)
Perfume / Bitch (“Bitch”) (1974)
My Uncle Oswald (1979)

Novels

1948 Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen
1964 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Golden Ticket, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
1972 Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator; Charlie and the Great Glass Cable Car)
1975 Danny the Champion of the World - a story about a boy Danny who lives with his father. The son admires his parent, but one day he learns the truth about him - it turns out that his father is a poacher.
1978 The Enormous Crocodile
1979 My Uncle Oswald
1980 The Twits - Mr. and Mrs. Twit hate everyone and everything, including their trained monkeys. This cannot continue like this - everyone, and above all, the monkeys themselves, decided.
1981 George's Marvelous Medicine is a novel about a little boy named George who comes up with a special medicine to cure his grandmother of irritability. With this tool, amazing adventures with people and animals begin.
1982 The BFG, or the Big Good Giant / The BFG - the story of the only good giant from the Land of Giants, who brings pleasant dreams to children. He and the beautiful Sophie come up with a plan to rid the world of evil giants.
1983 The Witches - a story about how dangerous witches are for children and how to learn to recognize and fight them.
1984 Boy. Boy: Tales of Childhood
1985 The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
1986 Going Solo
1988 Matilda / Matilda - the story of an exceptional girl. Matilda loves to read and over time discovers in herself supernatural abilities, with the help of which he decides to punish not very smart adults.
1990 Esio Trot
1991 The Minpins
1991 The Vicar of Nibbleswicke
1993 My Year

Stories

1961 James and the Giant Peach (James and the Giant Peach; James and the Miracle Peach) - entertaining story a boy who finds himself inside a giant magical peach, where he meets the local insect inhabitants.
1965 Night Guest / The Visitor (Stop in the Desert; Guest)
1966 The Magic Finger
1970 Amazing Mr. Fox / Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fantastic Mr. Fox; Terrific Mr. Fox; Fantastic Mr. Fox) is a story about how difficult it is to be the neighbor of the “Peerless” fox and his cunning family. Furious farmers, tired of the fox's constant attacks on their chicken coops, are preparing to destroy their enemy.

Stories

Main article: Stories by Roald Dahl

1942 Shot Down Over Libya
1943 The Gremlins (A Royal Air Force Story)
1943 The Sword
1944 Katina / Katina
1945 Death of an Old Old Man (Death of an Old Old Man)
1945 Madame Rosette (Madame Rosette)
1945 Smoked Cheese
1946 A trivial matter / A Peace of Cake (A trifling matter. My first story; Like clockwork)
1946 An African Story (An African Story; From African Stories)
1946 Beware, evil dog! / Beware of the Dog (The sworn enemy is treacherous, If only he knew...)
1946 To be near / Only This (Only this; Dream - and nothing more)
1946 Someone Like You (Who Hurts)
1946 They Shall Not Grow Old / They Shall Not Grow Old
1946 Yesterday was Beautiful (Yesterday was a wonderful day)
1948 Bet / Man From the South (Man from the South)
1948 The Wish (Dreamer; Make a Wish)
1949 The Sound Machine (The Sound of Wood; Sounds We Can't Hear; Ultrasonic Machine; The Scream of a Tree; The Sound of a Tree)
1951 Taster / Taste (Gourmet; Tasting; Taste; Bet)
1952 Desperate Jump / Dip in the Pool (Ends in the water; All-in; Depth Jump)
1952 Skin
1953 Edward the Conqueror (Victory; Edward the Conqueror)
1953 Galloping Foxley (Foxley the Horse)
1953 Lamb to the Slaughter (Lamb to the Slaughter; Murder Mystery; Murder of Patrick Maloney; Lamb for dinner; Leg of young lamb; Leg of lamb; Leg of lamb)
1953 Mr. Physi / Mr. Feasey (Dog Race // Jackie, Claude and Mr. Feasey; Mister Feasey)
1953 Mr. Hoddy / Mr. Hoddy
1953 My Lady Love, My Dove
1953 Neck
1953 Nunc Dimittis / Nunc Dimittis (The Devious Bachelor; A Connoisseur’s Revenge // Portrait; Absolution)
1953 Poison (Snake)
1953 Rummins / Rummins (Rummins; Haystack)
1953 The Automatic Writer / The Great Automatic Grammatisator
1953 The Ratcatcher
1953 The Soldier
1954 The Way Up to Heaven (Going Up // Road to Heaven; Send a Lineman; The Way to Heaven)
1958 Chippendale's Fourth Chest of Drawers / Parson's Pleasure (The Clergyman's Joy; The Parson's Walks; As You Will, Parson!; The Parson's Joys; The Parson's Delight)
1959 The Birth of a Catastrophe / Genesis and Catastrophe (Genesis and Catastrophe; Origin and Catastrophe; Genesis of a Catastrophe; Background to the Catastrophe; Genesis and Catastrophe (True Story))
1959 George the Poor / Georgy Porgy (Georgie the Fish; Poor George; Georgy Porgy, woman lover)
1959 Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Fur Coat / Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat (Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Gift; Mrs. Bixby)
1959 Pig / Pig (Pigs)
1959 Royal jelly/ Royal Jelly (Healing potion; Tidbit; Royal jelly)
1959 Spotty Powder
1959 World Champion / The Champion of the World (Sitting Pretty // Champion; Champion of Poachers)
1959 The Landlady (Mistress of the House; Hostess; Room for Rent; Family Boarding House; Family Boarding House)
1959 William and Mary (William and Mary)
1966 The Last Act
1967 Verdict / ...
1974 Mystery of the Universe / Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (Sweet Mystery of Life)
1974 Perfume / Bitch (“Bitch”)
1974 The Great Switcheroo (Deal; The Great Exchange; Exchange; You for me, I for you; The Great Deal)
1974 The Upsidedown Mice (reworked "Smoked Cheese" story)
1977 The Boy Who Talked to Animals
1977 The Hitch-Hiker
1977 The Mildenhall Treasure
1977 The Swan
1977 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
1978 The Bookseller
1980 Quiet Corner / ...
1980 Mr. Botibol / Mr. Botibol (On the waves of dreams)
1980 The Butler
1980 The Umbrella Man (Umbrella Man)
1980 And I will repay, incorporated / Vengeance Is Mine Inc. (Corporation “And I will repay”)
1986 Princess Mammalia
1986 How I Survived / Survival (chapter from the novel “Flying Alone”)
1986 The Great Mouse Plot (excerpt from The Boy)
1986 The Princess and the Poacher
1988 The Surgeon
1991 Memories with Food at Gipsy House (featuring Felicity Dahl)

Documentary works

1977 Unexpected luck. How I became a writer / Lucky Break
1996 Autobiography

Poetry

1961 Poems from the book "James and the Giant Peach"
1982 Revolting Rhymes (poems)
1983 Dirty Beasts (poems)
1989 Rhyme Stew (poems)
2005 Songs and Verse (poems)
2005 Vile Verses (poems)

Plays

1955 The Honeys

Film scripts

1967 You Only Live Twice
1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
1971 Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
1986 James and the Giant Peach (sc)

Articles

1983 Preface / Introduction
1997 The Chocolate Revolution

Collections

1946 Over to You: 10 Stories of Flyers and Flying
1953 Someone Like You (Taster; Who Has What Hurts)
1959 Hostess / Kiss Kiss (Kiss)
1968 Selected Stories
1969 Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl
1974 Night Guest / Switch Bitch (Bitch)
1977 Ah, this sweet mystery of life! / Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life
1977 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
1978 The Best of Roald Dahl
1979 Tales of the Unexpected [volume 1]
1980 A Roald Dahl Selection: Nine Short Stories
1980 More Tales of the Unexpected [volume 2]
1984 The Best of Roald Dahl
1986 Two Fables
1987 New Tales of the Unexpected

Anthologies

1983 Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories
The anthology of Tales Of The Unexpected, which formed the basis for the British television series of the same name (1979-1988), includes works by both Dahl himself and other contemporary British writers.

Other works

1959 Mrs. Mulligan
1964 In the Ruins
1991 Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety
1991 The Dahl Diary
1994 Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes
1995 Roald Dahl on Tape [audio book]
1996 Roald Dahl's Cookbook
2001 Even More Revolting Recipes
2006 The Dahlmanac

Roald Dahl; UK, Oxfordshire; 09/13/1916 – 11/23/1990

Roald Dahl's books are known almost all over the world. They have been filmed more than once, and reputable British and American publications have more than once included Roald Dahl's books for children in the list of the best works of this genre. The author himself is considered one of best writers for children in the 20th century.

Biography of Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was born into a family of emigrants to England from Norway - Harald Dahl and Sophia Magdalene Dahl. The boy received his name in honor of the national hero of Norway - polar explorer Roald Amundesen. When Roald was 4 years old, his sister died, and just a few days later his father died. The mother was left alone with six children. Nevertheless, she did not go back to Norway, but remained in England in order to give her children an education, according to her father’s will.

Roald Dahl initially received his education at Llandaff School, but child abuse forces his mother to transfer him to St. Peter's Boarding School. But even here, not everything went smoothly for the boy. In the future, these years of life will form the basis of Roald Dahl’s book “Boys”. At the age of 13 he transferred to Repton School. The headmaster of this school was famous for his sadism, but this did not stop him from becoming Archbishop of Canterbury and then crowning Elizabeth II. All this made Dahl doubt the existence of God. But it was his years at Repton School that inspired him to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

In 1934, Roald Dahl graduated from college and began training at Shell. Two years later he is offered to go to Egypt, but he refuses, and soon ends up in East Africa. Despite the fact that here he lives in a Shell company house with servants and cooks, his encounters with black mambas, lions and poisonous snakes make an indelible impression on him.

In 1939, Roald Dahl was appointed commander of a platoon of askari (local warriors). With the outbreak of World War II, he joined the British Air Force and began training to become a pilot. The training lasted half a year and in August 1940 he and 16 other servicemen completed their training and became air force officers. At the end of the war, of these 16 people, only three remained alive. Roald Dahl crashed on his first flight. This happened not through his fault, but because of the incorrect coordinates given to him. In this regard, he had to land the plane in the desert at night, where, having caught on a stone, he crashed. In it, he received multiple wounds and even lost his sight for several months.

After undergoing rehabilitation, he continued to serve in aviation and even shot down 2 enemy bombers. But headaches after the disaster did not allow him to continue his service, and in 1942 he became an assistant military attache to the United States. He was struck by the contented and detached lifestyle in the United States, and he immediately published several articles about the need for help from Great Britain. At the same time, he meets military historian Cecil Forester. It is he who advises Roald to try his hand at literature. It became possible to read Roald Dahl's works for the first time in 1942 - this is the story "Shot Down Over Libya."

After the end of the war, Roald Dahl returned to England. Here he increasingly tries himself as a writer and soon it bears fruit. Roald Dahl's books and stories begin to be published, and the writer himself is awarded the prestigious Edgar Poe Prize. In 1950, the writer moved to New York where he met his future wife, Patricia Neal. In America he is actively involved in public life, working on his new works and raising his children. It was for them that he originally wrote Roald Dahl's fairy tale "James and the Giant Peach", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and many others. These tales have received a number of awards. In the last years of his life, Roald Dahl wrote several autobiographical works. The writer died in 1990 and, according to his will, was buried along with billiard cues, a bottle of Burgundy, sweets and pencils.

Roald Dahl(in some translations - Roald Dahl; English Roald Dahl; September 13, 1916 - November 23, 1990) - English writer of Norwegian origin, author of novels, fairy tales and short stories, poet and screenwriter. His stories are famous for their unexpected endings, and his children's books are famous for their lack of sentimentality, and often for their dark humor. Winner of numerous awards and prizes in literature.

Biography

Childhood and youth

Roald Dahl was born at Villa Marie on Fairwater Road in Llandaff (Cardiff, Wales, British Empire) on September 13, 1916, to Norwegian parents Harald Dahl (1890-1945) and Sophie Magdalena Dahl (née Hesselberg). (1891-1979). The father was originally from Sarpsborg and moved to England in the 1880s. Sophie moved there in 1911 and married Harald that same year. Roald is named after the polar explorer Roald Amundsen, the national hero of Norway. He had three sisters - Astri, Alhild and Elsa. Born in England and speaking English from childhood, Dahl and his sisters communicated in Norwegian at home with their parents. At birth, all four were baptized in the Norwegian Church of Cardiff, of which their parents were parishioners.

When Roald turned seven, his mother sent him to Llandaff Cathedral School, where he spent two years. However, child abuse by the school's headmaster forces Sophie to transfer the boy to St. Peter's Boarding School in Weston-super-Mare, where he studied until he was 13. It was the nearest private school accessible by ferry across the Bristol Channel. The time spent at this school was difficult for Roald. He was very homesick and wrote to his mother every week, but never told her about it, being under pressure from school censorship. It was only after his mother's death in 1967 that he learned that she had saved all his letters by tying stacks of envelopes with green ribbons. Roald described all his childhood adventures - bullying from teachers and staff - in the book “Boy” (1984).

The boy stood out among his peers for his height (the adult Roald Dahl was 6 feet 6 inches, or 1.98 m), and for his success in cricket and swimming, but not in his studies. Roald read Kipling, Haggard, Henty, absorbing the heroism, masculinity and love of adventure that later influenced his life and work.

In 1929, when Roald was thirteen, the family moved to Kent. Dahl continued his studies at Repton School (Derbyshire). Repton was even worse than St. Peter's. Hazing flourished here - junior schoolchildren were the personal slaves of senior schoolchildren, who carried out bullying and torture. The fact that the former headmaster, Geoffrey Fisher (who later became Archbishop of Canterbury), a sadist who beat children with a wooden hammer, crowned Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey twenty years later (1953), led Dahl to doubt the existence of God. The morals that reigned in Repton will be described by Dahl in the story “Foxley the Horse”.

After graduating from college (1934), the future writer, as part of a group of schoolchildren, went to explore Newfoundland as a photographer. Photography was another serious hobby for Dahl in subsequent years. Dahl's university education did not tempt him; he chose a career as a business man. After completing a two-year training in England at the Shell oil company, he received an offer to go to Egypt, but refused. In 1936, as an employee of Shell, Dahl went where he wanted - to East Africa, to Tanganyika (now Tanzania).