The young Dahl received his earliest education at Llandaff Cathedral School. When the principal gave him a harsh beating for playing a practical joke, Dahl's mother decided to enroll her rambunctious and mischievous child at St. Peter's, a British boarding school, as had been her husband's wish. He wrote a number of books and short stories for adults, many of which were televised as the hugely popular Tales of the Unexpected. Dahl died on November 23, 1990, at the age of 74. After suffering an unspecified infection, on November 12, 1990, Dahl had been admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England.

A boy happens upon a witch convention, where the witches are planning to get rid of every last child in England. The boy and his grandmother must battle the witches to save the children. 'Matilda' (1988)

Creative Play

And that he did. After Dahl graduated from Repton in 1932, he went on an expedition to Newfoundland. Afterward, he took a job with the Shell Oil Company in Tanzania, Africa, where he remained until 1939. In 2009, Wes Anderson directed this quirky, touching animated feature about the adventures of the farm-raiding Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney), with a cast including Meryl Streep (Mrs. Fox) and Bill Murray (Badger). 'The Witches' (2020) Danny DeVito directed this movie adaptation and also voiced the narrator. 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' (2009) Dahl wrote several television and movie scripts. Several film adaptations of his books have also been created (all of those made during his lifetime Dahl famously despised), most notably: 'Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (1971)

Dahl later transferred to Repton, a private school with a reputation for academic excellence. He resented the rules at Repton; while there, the lively and imaginative youngster was restless and ached for adventure. Dahl began his writing career with short stories; in all, he published nine short story collections. Dahl first caught the writing bug while in Washington, D.C., when he met with author C.S. Forrester, who encouraged him to start writing. Dahl published his first short story in the Saturday Evening Post. He went on to write stories and articles for other magazines, including The New Yorker.

Multibuys

Best Known For: Children's author Roald Dahl wrote the kids' classics 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' 'Matilda' and 'James and the Giant Peach,' among other famous works.

Lusting for yet more adventure, in 1939, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force. After training in Nairobi, Kenya, he became a World War II fighter pilot. While serving in the Mediterranean, Dahl crash-landed in Alexandria, Egypt. The plane crash left him with serious injuries to his skull, spine and hip. Following a recovery that included a hip replacement and two spinal surgeries, Dahl was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he became an assistant air attaché. BooksDahl first established himself as a children’s writer in 1961, when he published the book James and the Giant Peach, a book about a lonely little boy living with his two mean aunts who meets the Old Green Grasshopper and his insect friends on a giant, magical peach. The book met with wide critical and commercial acclaim. 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (1964) Of the films that were adapted from his books during his lifetime, Roald Dahl came to despise them. As I went on, the stories became less and less realistic and more fantastic. But becoming a writer was pure fluke. Without being asked to, I doubt if I'd ever have thought of it.

If you get on the wrong side of Miss Trunchbull, she can liquidize you like a carrot in a BLENDER." Of his early writing career, Dahl told New York Times book reviewer Willa Petschek, "As I went on the stories became less and less realistic and more fantastic." He went on to describe his foray into writing as a "pure fluke," saying, "Without being asked to, I doubt if I'd ever have thought to do it." MISS TRUNCHBULL: What do you call the outer part of a tree? BRUCE BOGTROTTER: Don't know, Miss! MISS TRUNCHBULL: Bark, silly! Bark! BRUCE BOGTROTTER: Woof, woof! LITTLE BOY: I can't go to school today, I have a tummy ache. MUM: Where does it hurt? LITTLE BOY: In school! He died in hospital in Oxford, on November 23rd, 1990. His books have continued to be read and loved, and have been made into a number of hit films, including Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can even visit the Roald Dahl Museum in the village where Dahl lived for most of his life.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. I love a good joke book so I was excited to get to this book during my Roald Dahl readathon. I went into it with high hopes and I am happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. While Dahl hardly excelled as a student, his mother offered to pay for his tuition at Oxford or Cambridge University when he graduated. Dahl's response, as quoted from his autobiography, Boy: Tales of Childhood, was, "No thank you. I want to go straight from school to work for a company that will send me to wonderful faraway places like Africa or China."