Author of world-renowned children’s books such as ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator’ and ‘Matilda,’ Roald Dahl opened the doors of a magical world for children and all generations for decades
Roald Dahl, the author of the famous children's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," was born on Sept. 13, 1916 in Wales, the United Kingdom. This day has been celebrated as "Roald Dahl Day" for some years now, and today the world remembers this incredible writer on his 100th birthday. Various events have been taking place to commemorate Dahl throughout 2016. It is only fitting that we do the same, and take a look inside his life and see how his magical stories came about.
Roald Dahl's parents were originally from Norway, but they moved to the U.K. during the 1880s. Dahl lost his father and one of his sisters at an early age but had a strong bond with his mother. Little Dahl was mischievous and an avid reader. He spent a lot of time in his family's library. He had a great imagination, which is why most of his well-known books stem from his childhood memories.
For instance, the dreadful owner of the local candy shop where Dahl grew up, Mrs Pratchett, had a particular dislike for children in her shop. One day little Dahl and his friends put a dead mouse in one the of candy jars while Mrs. Pratchett wasn't looking. When she put her hand in the jar and felt the slimy body of the dead animal, it was bad news for Dahl and his pack. Mrs. Pratchett made sure that their headmaster learned of this incident and punished them for it. So Dahl based his equally dreadful character Miss Trunchbull, the headmaster who hated children, in "Matilda" on her.
Similarly, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" came from his school days. When Dahl was around 12 years old, the chocolate company Cadbury used to send their new chocolates to his school so the pupils could eat and give ratings on them. This made the ever so creative author of ours imagine an office full of people who would sit down and ponder on how to make new chocolates day-to-day. He thought that there had to be some people that could do this type of work. Thus, Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas were born.
After finishing school, he joined the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as a pilot at the beginning of World War II. During the war, Dahl survived a plane crash and was severely injured. After his recovery, he was sent to Washington as a spy. He provided intelligence for his then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He had good connections in the White House, as well as with writers. The writer C.S. Forester was a friend of Dahl's, and asked Dahl to give him some notes of his time in the war so that he could write a piece on them. Dahl wrote it and sent it to his friend. However, what Dahl wrote was so eloquent and good, Forester decided to send it to the newspaper without touching a word of it instead. So, Dahl's first story "Shot Down Over Libya" was published in the Sunday Evening Post in 1942, prompting the beginning of a great writing career.
Dahl began to write on different subjects such as being a pilot or a spy, or a chocolate factory owner or a friendly giant. He even wrote a James Bond movie called "You Only Live Twice" in 1967 for Hollywood. His imagination knew no bounds and he was particularly good at maintaining the fine line between tragedy and humor. His stories for children tend to be very humorous and magical, but also very dark and spooky at the same time. In addition to children's fiction, he wrote for adult audiences, as well. His macabre short stories are particularly famous.
In 1953, Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal and together they had five children. The couple lost one of their daughters, Olivia Twenty, at the age of seven from measles. Inevitably, losing his beloved flesh and blood had a big impact on Dahl and his writing. He wanted to make people laugh more than anything.
One of the biggest things that separates him from most children's authors is the fact that adults read and loved his stories as well as children. It is guaranteed that if you are a child at heart, you will cherish his stories. Dahl saw magic everywhere he looked and he wanted to share this with everyone. He had the gift of touching people's hearts and evoking their imaginations.
The author wrote many famous children's books like; "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Matilda," "The Witches," "Fantastic Mr Fox,""The BFG" and "James and the Giant Peach." As soon as they were published, they instantly became hits. His books have also been made into movies and an entire generation grew up watching the movie adaptations of their favorite childhood books.
Nevertheless, there is more as to why we love him so much. It is because he was simply a good and gentle soul who wanted to tell stories. Dahl loved living in the English countryside, spending time with his family. After all, he was a father more than anything. He had a kind heart and a never-ending love for chocolate. He ate chocolate every day with his children after lunch and that is exactly how we should remember this exceptionally tall (1.98 meters) man on his 100th birthday; at his house, having a laugh with his children.