New Delhi: Roald Dahl is one of the greatest British authors who is famous for children’s books and short stories. Also, he was a screenwriter, a poet and a wartime fighter ace. According to reports, his books have sold over 300 million copies all over the world and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of children’s literature in the 20th century.
Born in 1916 at Villa Marie in Cardiff, Wales, Roald Dahl was named after Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen. His parents were Norwegians and his first language was Norwegian. After finishing his school, Dahl joined the Shell Petroleum Company in 1934 where he was engaged in a luxurious job.
His days as a pilot in the World War II
In August 1939, before the outbreak of World War II, the British hatched a plan to round up the hundreds of Germans living in Dar-es-Salaam. Dahl was made a lieutenant of the King’s African Rifles and he commanded a platoon of Askari men, indigenous troops who were serving in the colonial army. In November 1939, Dahl became a member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraftman. After months of extensive training, Dahl became a pilot officer on August 24, 1940, and was judged ready to join a squadron and face the enemy. He became a fighter pilot and later became an intelligence officer. He rose to the rank of acting wing commander.
As the author of children’s books
In the 1940s, Dahl became famous as an author for his works for children and adults. He became one of the best-selling authors in the world. His short stories have trademark endings which are unexpected, and his books for children are famous for their macabre, unsentimental and often darkly comic mood. The stories feature adult enemies who were villains of the child characters.
His books for the children uphold the kindhearted and have a warm sentiment. Some of his famous books for children are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Witches, The BFG, and The Twits. In 1983, he was awarded the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and in 1990, he received the British Book Awards’ Children’s Author of the Year. Dahl passed away on November 23, 1990, at the age of 74.
In the 1940s, Dahl became famous as an author for his works for children and adults. He became one of the best-selling authors in the world. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
