Roald Dahl

author : Roald Dahlwebsite : http://www.roalddahl.comfacebook : https://www.facebook.com/roalddahl

When Roald Dahl said, "I am an old man full of metal," he wasn't kidding around. "The head of my femur (that's the large round bone of the hip joint) has been sawn off on both sides and a fearsome stainless-steel spike with a ball on top has been hammered into the hollow of my thighbone and glued into place."
"What on earth, you will ask, has all this got to do with writing books for children? Quite a lot and I'll tell you why. It turns the body into a rickety structure and a rickety structure is no good for climbing trees or going for long walks. It prefers to be sitting comfortably in an armchair with a writing board on the lap and the feet resting on a suitcase. Thus it encourages my work and the only work I know is writing books."

Roald Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 and educated in English boarding schools from the age of nine until twenty. During World War II, he was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot in North Africa and Greece. When his active duty was completed, he was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he was asked to write about some of his adventures. "A Piece of Cake," his first published work, was an account of a fighter plane crashing in Libya. His first piece of fiction was called "The Gremlins," a story about little creatures who make trouble for the Royal Air Force by drilling holes in the planes and wreaking general havoc.

Fifteen years later, Roald Dahl found himself telling bedtime stories to his children over and over again, and those were the basis for James and the Giant Peach, his first published children's novel. After that came Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to be followed by many others, including The BFG, The Witches, and Matilda.

Every book of Roald Dahl's was written in a little brick hut in the apple orchard about two hundred yards away from his home. He wrote them all in pencil ("I never could type"), sometimes with an old sleeping bag wrapped around him, since there was only a paraffin stove to heat the drafty hut. "When I am up here," he said, "I see only the paper I am writing on, and my mind is far away with Willy Wonka or James or Mr. Fox or Danny or whatever else I am trying to cook up. The room itself is of no consequence. It is out of focus, a place for dreaming and floating and whistling in the wind."

Things that Roald Dahl wrote about himself:

I have a passion for paintings and have collected them for many years.

I make good orange marmalade.

I breed orchids and am a keen gardener.

I eat lots of chocolate.

The only dish I have never eaten is tripe.

Beethoven is wonderful.

Pop singers are horrible.

I would like to have been a good doctor.

I have had eight major operations, three on the hips, five on the spine, and countless smaller ones.

Kindness is more important than piety.

I wish my dog could talk to me.

More can be learned about Roald Dahl in his autobiographical Boy: Tales of Childhood and Going Solo, as well as in the chapter called "Lucky Break" in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. Roald Dahl died in 1990 at the age of seventy-four. Although the world lost one of its most beloved authors, what he has left behind is a rich library of wonderful tales for children of today and tomorrow to discover and enjoy.

Roald Dahl Book Series

Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last! But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life!

MatildaMatilda is a brilliant and sensitive child, but her parents think of her only as a nuisance. Even before she is five years old, she has read Dickens and Hemingway and still her parents think of her as a pest. So she decides to get back at them. Her platinum-haired mother and car salesman father are no match for her sharp genius, and neither is the cruel headmistress Miss Trunchbull. And then she child prodigy discovers she has an extraordinary psychic power that can save her school and especially the lovely kindergarten teacher, Miss Honey.

The BFGCaptured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants-rather than the BFG-she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

The Witches*The Witches* by Roald Dahl has made many a child quiver with fear and delight! Witches really are a detestable breed. They disguise themselves as lovely ladies, when secretly they want to squish and squelch all the wretched children they despise. Luckily one boy and his grandmother know how to recognize these vile creatures - but can they get rid of them for good?

James and the Giant Peach*James and the Giant Peach* is a favourite tale of the most marvelous adventure by Roald Dahl. An enormous escaped rhinoceros from London Zoo has eaten James's parents. And it gets worse! James is packed off to live with his two really horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. Poor James is miserable, until something peculiar happens and James finds himself on the most wonderful and extraordinary journey he could ever imagine . . .

Fantastic Mr FoxThe adventures of Mr. Fox and three mean farmers who want to destroy the fox and his family.

Completely Unexpected Tales: Tales of the Unexpected. More Tales of the UnexpectedContains: ◦ Dip in the Pool ◦ Edward the Conqueror ◦ Galloping Foxley ◦ Genesis and Catastrophe ◦ Georgy Porgy ◦ Lamb to the Slaughter ◦ Man From the South ◦ Mr. Botibol ◦ Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat ◦ My Lady Love, My Dove ◦ Neck ◦ Nunc Dimittis ◦ Parson's Pleasure ◦ Poison ◦ Royal Jelly ◦ Skin ◦ Taste ◦ The Butler ◦ The Hitchhiker ◦ The Landlady ◦ The Sound Machine ◦ The Umbrella Man ◦ The Way Up to Heaven ◦ Vengeance is Mine Inc. ◦ William and Mary Take a pinch of unease. Stir it into a large dollop of the macabre, add a generous helping of dark and stylish wit, garnish with the bizarre and what do you have? Roald Dahl at his brilliant, hypnotizing best, cooking up some of the most unusual stories ever told. Here in one volume are *Tales of the Unexpected* and *More Tales of the Unexpected*, making this a superb compendium of vengeance, surprise and dark delight.

Skin and Other StoriesThe eleven stories in this volume are drawn from Dahl's popular adult short stories and were chosen for their quirky, twisted, and haunting plots -- sure to please Dahl teenage fans. Contents vii • Introduction (Skin and Other Stories) • (2000) • essay by Wendy Cooling 1 • Skin • non-genre • (1952) • short story by Roald Dahl 22 • Lamb to the Slaughter • non-genre • (1953) • short story by Roald Dahl 35 • The Sound Machine • (1949) • short story by Roald Dahl 53 • An African Story • (1946) • short story by Roald Dahl 71 • Galloping Foxley • non-genre • (1953) • short story by Roald Dahl 90 • The Wish • (1948) • short story by Roald Dahl 95 • The Surgeon • non-genre • (1988) • novelette by Roald Dahl 129 • Dip in the Pool • non-genre • (1952) • short story by Roald Dahl 144 • The Champion of the World • non-genre • (1959) • novelette by Roald Dahl 179 • Beware of the Dog • non-genre • (1944) • short story by Roald Dahl 195 • My Lady Love, My Dove • non-genre • (1952) • short story by Roald Dahl

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six MoreSeven stories of fantasy and fun by the fantastic Roald Dahl. *The Boy Who Talked With Animals* - in which a stranded sea turtle and a small boy have more in common than meets the eye. *The Hitchhiker* - proves that in a pinch a professional pickpocket can be the perfect pal. *The Mildenhall Treasure* - a true tale of fortune found and an opportunity lost. *The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar* - in which a modern-day Robin Hood brings joy to the hearts of orphans - and fear to the souls of casino owners around the world.

The TwitsMr and Mrs Twit are extremely nasty, so the Muggle-Wump monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird hatch an ingenious plan to give them just the ghastly surprise they deserve.

Danny the Champion of the WorldDanny’s life seems perfect: his home is a gypsy caravan, he’s the youngest car mechanic around, and his best friend is his dad, who never runs out of wonderful stories to tell. And when Danny discovers his father’s secret, he’s off on the adventure of a lifetime. Here’s Roald Dahl’s famous story about a 9-year-old boy, his dad, and a daring and hilarious pheasant-snatching expedition. Just as important, it’s the story of the love between a boy and his father who, in Danny’s own words, is “the most marvelous and exciting father a boy ever had.”

My Uncle Oswald**Meet Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, Roald Dahl's most disgraceful and extraordinary character . . . ** Aside from being thoroughly debauched, strikingly attractive and astonishingly wealthy, Uncle Oswald was the greatest bounder, bon vivant and fornicator of all time. In this instalment of his scorchingly frank memoirs he tells of his early career and erotic education at the hands of a number of enthusiastic teachers, of discovering the invigorating properties of the Sudanese Blister Beetle, and of the gorgeous Yasmin Howcomely, his electrifying partner in a most unusual series of thefts . . . 'Raunchy and cheeky entertainment' *Sunday Express* 'Immense fun' *Daily Telegraph* * * * *Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda,* and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, *Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales* by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahl's stories continue to make readers shiver today.

The Best of Roald DahlStories included: Madame Rosette, Man From the South, The Sound Machine, Taste, Dip in the Pool, Skin, Edward the Conqueror, Lamb to the Slaughter, Galloping Foxley, The Way up to Heaven, Parson's Pleasure, The Landlady, William and Mary, Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, Royal Jelly, Georgy Porgy, Genesis and Catastrophe, Pig, The Visitor, Claud's Dog.

The Magic FingerWhat happens when the hunter becomes the hunted? To the Gregg family, hunting is just plain fun. To the girl who lives next door, it's just plain horrible. She tries to be polite. She tries to talk them out of it, but the Greggs only laugh at her. Then one day the Greggs go too far, and the little girl turns her Magic Finger on them. When she's very, very angry, the little girl's Magic Finger takes over. She really can’t control it, and now it's turned the Greggs into birds! Before they know it, the Greggs are living in a nest, and that's just the beginning of their problems…

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator*Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator* is the superb sequel to the ever-popular *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* by Roald Dahl. Charlie Bucket has WON Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and is on his way to take possession of it. In a great glass elevator! But when the elevator makes a fearful whooshing noise, Charlie and his family find themselves in splendid orbit around the Earth. A daring adventure has begun, with the one and only Mr Willy Wonka leading the way.

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