Fun Facts

• Dahl was 6 foot 5 and three-quarter inches tall (1.96 meters).
• He spoke English, Norwegian and Swahili. He needed to learn Swahili when he worked in Africa for Shell in the 1930's.
• Roald Dahl loved chocolate, but not chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream.
• He always wrote in pencil on yellow paper.
• He was a Hurricane fighter pilot during World War II.
• "Not-so-fun" fact: as a testament to his bravery in the war Dahl had to undergo six operations on his spine and had to steel hips.

Personal Life

Roald Dahl married an american actress called Patricia Neal who he had five children with. One of their daughters sadly died at the age of seven. The inspiration to write children's literature came to Dahl once he had his own kids. After thirty years Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl were no longer a married couple. Right after his divorce he met and married Felicity Crosland, she says that he wasn't an easy man to handle but he was the perfect husband to have. Dahl died in 1990 due to a terrible blood disease. His two wives became friends over time and he is survived by a large extended family. 

Roald Dhal's Books

Roald Dahl wrote many stories such as: James And The Giant Peach, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, George's Marvelous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Big Friendly Giant and The Witches.


-Matilda
Matilda is a story of a young gifted child, she was able to read at the age of three. Her parents didn't care about her, they'd rather lay back, relax and watch television. Once Matilda goes to school, she impresses her teacher Miss Honey with her intelligence. In the other hand Miss Trunchbull, her headmistress is a horrible woman who makes her students suffer. After a while Matilda and Miss Honey become close friends. Miss Honey unveils that Miss Trunchbull is actually her aunt, she had abused her since her father died when she was a child. In the end Matilda's family moves to Spain as police discovered about her father's unknown illegal activity. Therefore Matilda stays with Miss Honey, and adopts her as her daughter.

-The Witches

Here's a short summary of The Witches.

"They are completely bald and always wear wigs, constantly sneaking hands underneath to scratch their itchy scalps. They don't have any toes and have really broad feet, but they force their feet into narrow, fashionable shoes to blend in. They have really long, curved fingernails that they usually hide by wearing gloves. They are the witches. And the meanest, nastiest witches live in England, where a boy has just gone to live with his grandmother after his parent's tragic death.

His grandmother always warned the boy about suspecting nice women who offer him candy - check for gloves, wigs and pinched feet. He is able to avoid the witches until his grandmother becomes ill and they go to a seaside resort where the English witches are having a convention just like normal people in the hotel. Stunned, the boy overhears the grand witch's plot to eliminate all of the children in England by feeding them candy that will turn them into mice! When he is discovered, the boy knows that the witches are going to kill him, but they test the potion on him instead. Now in mouse form, the boy and his grandmother must use all of their wits and cleverness to defeat the witches' evil scheme!"

Early Life

Roald Dahl is a beloved children's author who was born on september 13th 1916 in Cardiff, Wales.
He wrote many children's books which became famous throughout the world. Dahl's parents were Norwegian, his father harold and his sister Astrid died when he was only three years old. His mother Sofie ended up raising six children al on her own. His parents loved telling and writing stories, his father was a tremendous diary-writer who wrote notebooks during the World War I. Dahl and his sisters would greatly enjoy stories of Norwegian folklore told by their mother.