Murphy’s Law says that “If anything can go wrong, it will!” So many things seemed to go wrong in the life of author Roald
Dahl: his seven-year-old sister, Astri, died of appendicitis; a month later his grief-stricken father died of pneumonia. As a child, Dahl was bullied in boarding school. As an adult, he crashed his World War II fighter plane. After Dahl got married, his infant son, Theo, was hit by a car (he survived), his seven-year-old daughter Olivia died of the measles, and his wife, actress Patricia Neal, suffered a stroke.
WHEW!
Yet Roald Dahl triumphed through all these personal tragedies, using them to strengthen his own character and to inspire him to write wildly imaginative books for both children and adults. Dahl, who at 6 foot 6 inches tall towered over most people, lived life to the fullest. As his daughter, Ophelia wrote in the
Roald Dahl Treasury, her father’s stories were <
strong>“rarely cosy or sweet; they always had a spooky edge.” His characters, who overcome tragedies as he had done, have wonderful complexities and enormous heart.
“There is no end to what you can invent if you put your mind to it. You can go on for ever.” – Roald Dahl
In
James and the Giant Peach, four-year-old James Henry Trotter lived a happy life…until tragedy struck! His mother and father “got eaten up by an enormous, angry rhinoceros which had escaped from the London Zoo.” Then James is forced to live with his two cruel and abusive aunts. But through courage and cleverness – and a little magic from a giant-sized peach! – James once again lives a happy life. The Walt Disney movie inspired by the book
James and the Giant Peach combines live-action, animation, and computer-generated special effects (see link below).
Roald Dahl hated the private schools he attended, mainly because the older boys and the headmasters were abusive. Likewise, Dahl’s books contained mean, unfeeling adults, like the nasty aunts in James and the Giant Peach and the brutal headmistress Miss Trunchbull in
Matilda. In 1996,
Matilda was made into a film directed by Danny Devito.
Candy was dandy in Dahl’s childhood, despite the fact that the “dragon lady” who owned his neighborhood candy store, the unpleasant Mrs. Pratchett, would often yell at Dahl and his friends: “Keep yer thievin’ fingers off them chocolates!” Dahl’s sweet tooth was the inspiration for the best loved book
Charlie and the chocolate Factory. It was later made into a major motion picture starring Gene Wilder (1971) and later actor Johnny Depp (2005) as the extraordinary Willy Wonka.
“When you grow up and have children of your own, do please remember something important…a stodgy parent is no fun at all. What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is SPARKY.” – Roald Dahl
Dahl often tried out his remarkable stories on his five children before the books were published. At bedtime they would hear a preview of the stories that would become the
The BFG, the
Fantastic Mr. Fox and
The Magic Finger. His books have been enjoyed by millions, if not billions, of children all over the world.
Roald Dahl: Born Sept. 13, 1916. Died November 23, 1990.
Most Popular Books by Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The Magic Finger (1966)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
Danny: the Champion of the World (1975)
The Twits (1980)
The BFG (1982)
The Witches (1983)
Matilda (1988)
Esio Trot (1990)
About the Author Charles J. Shields writes from his home near Chicago, Illinois, where he lives with his wife, Guadalupe, an elementary school principal.