Dahl, Roald (1916-1990), was a famous British writer best known as an author of children’s books. His honesty about difficult subjects, such as death, and his focus on many unflattering and obnoxious characters make his work particularly fascinating for children. His most famous book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), is the story of a poor boy and four disagreeable children who tour an unusual candy factory. Dahl adapted this novel for the motion picture Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). A second film adaptation was released in 2005. His other books for children include James and the Giant Peach (1961), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), The Twits (1980), The BFG (1982), and Matilda (1988).
Dahl also wrote for adults. He became known for writing eerie and sophisticated short stories, many of which are collected in Over to You (1946), Someone Like You (1953), and Kiss, Kiss (1959). The 1979 television series “Tales of the Unexpected” dramatized 22 of Dahl’s short stories. His Collected Stories was published in 2006, after his death. Dahl wrote or co-wrote several screenplays, including You Only Live Twice (1967) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).
Dahl was born on Sept. 13, 1916, near Cardiff, Wales. His father died when Dahl was 4 years old, and a number of Dahl’s books deal with the loss of parents. He wrote two autobiographies, Boy (1984) and Going Solo (1986). Dahl was married to the American actress Patricia Neal from 1953 to 1983. He died on Nov. 23, 1990.
