Roald Dahl was one of the greatest story-tellers of all time. He was born in Llanduff, South Wales, of Norwegian parents, in 1916, and educated in English boarding-schools. Then, in search of adventure, the young Dahl took a job with Shell Oil in Africa. When World War II broke out he joined the RAF as a fighter pilot, receiving terrible injuries and almost dying in a plane crash in 1942.
It was following this “monumental bash on the head” and a meeting with C. S. Forester (author of the famous Captain Horatio Hornblower stories) that Roald Dahl's writing career began, with articles for magazines such as The New Yorker. He wrote successful novellas and short stories for adults, such as Tales of the Unexpected, before concentrating on his marvelous children's stories. The first of these, James and the Giant Peach, in 1960, was followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and an unbroken string of hugely successful, best-selling titles.
Roald Dahl worked from a tiny hut in the pale orchard of the Georgian house in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire which he shared with his wife, Liccy. He was always brimming with new ideas and his many books continue to bring enormous enjoyment to millions of children and their parents throughout the world.
Roald Dahl died on November 23, 1990.