Roald Dahl remembered

Born to Norwegian parents in 1916 in Wales, Roald Dahl had the audacity to ignore conventional literary styles adopted by established children’s authors of his era.

He wrote when children’s literature was dominated by the adult-friendly likes of Enid Blyton but rather than writing for the parent, it was Dahl himself who admitted that he conspired with children against adults. 
When others were detailing the lives of good little children that did what adults told them to do, Dahl’s books gained success because the author was on the children’s side.  In particular, it was the way that adults were being portrayed as the ‘baddy’ in his books and that, for once, children were encouraged to laugh at these satirical characters. In Matilda, especially, the ridiculous behaviour of the protagonist’s parents is the source of much humour.  
Although Dahl is renowned for his children’s books, he began by writing articles on his experiences as a pilot in World War Two.  From there he moved on to fictional short stories which were widely published.  It was only when he felt that he ‘couldn’t think of any more short stories’ that he began to write books for children, his first being The Gremlins. By the time he had had his own children Dahl wrote his next children’s book called James and the Giant Peach, which was closely followed by one of his most famous books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But for all Dahl’s fantastical creations of Oompa Loompas and peaches that never stop growing, his adult fiction could have been written by a different person — they had an even more macabre edge. His most famous book of adult short stories, Kiss Kiss, was viewed with disgust by some for containing stories that described murders and mutilations even though they were all tinged with typically Dahl humour. 
Perhaps it was experiences in Dahl’s life that provoked these more sinister tales.  In 1962, his daughter Olivia contracted measles and later died.  His ex-wife later wrote that when Dahl came back from the hospital where he had seen her dead, he ‘really almost went crazy’ and that for years afterwards he still never managed to talk about her death. 
But for all the contradictions that Dahl presents, his books are as popular with children today as they were when he first wrote them.  His ingenious characters and inventive plots, it’s true to say, don’t age.

A writer’s life
• Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, South Wales on September 13, 1916.
• His first job was in Africa, with the Shell Oil Company.
• In the Second World War he fought as a fighter pilot, and was badly injured when his plane crashed.
• He was crazy about sport, in fact it was about the only thing he watched on TV. He especially loved snooker, horse racing, rugby and football.
• Roald Dahl helped to invent a special little valve that is used in surgery to drain fluid from the brain.
• For a paperweight he used one of his own artificial hip joints!