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Roald Dahl

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Born: September 12 1916

Died: 2222 11 19901990

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Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors.

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. Its title was inspired by a highly inaccurate and sensationalized article about the crash that blinded him, which claimed he had been shot down instead of simply having to land because of low fuel.

His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create 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.

He also had a successful parallel career as the writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour 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 world-wide 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".

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Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl

Books from Roald Dahl

Matilda

The BFG

James and the Giant Peach

The Witches

The Twits

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

George's Marvellous Medicine

Boy: Tales of Childhood

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A Play

The Witches: Plays for Children

The Best of Roald Dahl

The Vicar of Nibbleswicke

Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories

Boy and Going Solo

Sacrées Sorcières

Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes

The Flying Sorcerers: More Comic Tales of Fantasy

Fantastic Mr Fox