Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story author, poet, and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults and became one of the world's bestselling authors.
Dahl's stories are famous for their unexpected endings. His children's books for their lack of sentimentality and often for their black humor. He is the winner of numerous awards and prizes in literature.
Roald Dahl created some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James, and the Giant Peach. According to BBC World Business Report, as of 2016, his books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, to a Norwegian family. After graduating from Repton, a renowned British public school, in 1932, Dahl avoided a university education and joined an expedition to Newfoundland.
From 1937 to 1939, he worked in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but when World War II broke out he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF). Flying as a fighter pilot, he was seriously injured in an emergency landing in Libya.
Dahl's first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya. Today the story is published as A Piece of Cake. The story, about his wartime adventures, was bought by the Saturday Evening Post for $900 and propelled him into a career as a writer.
Dahl’s first children's book, The Gremlins (1943), was written for Walt Disney for a film that was never made and was largely unsuccessful. The Gremlins tell about mischievous little creatures that were part of Royal Air Force folklore.
The writer did not stop and later created his major hits, which Disney is pleased to continue to screen.
He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humor and a surprise ending. Many were originally written for American magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Harper's, Playboy, and The New Yorker, then subsequently collected by Dahl into anthologies, gaining worldwide acclaim.
Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories and they have appeared in numerous collections, some only being published in book form after his death. His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards: in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You; in 1959, for the story The Landlady; and in 1980, for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on Skin.
Roald Dahl died at 74 of rare blood cancer in Oxford. According to his granddaughter, the family gave him a "sort of Viking funeral". He was buried with his snooker cues, some excellent burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils, and a power saw.
