Roald Dahl bibliography
 Bookshelf with stacks of books by Roald Dahl | |
| Novels↙ | 19 |
|---|---|
| Collections↙ | 13 |
| Poems↙ | 3 |
| Scripts↙ | 12 |
| Books edited↙ | 1 |
| Non-fiction↙ | 9 |
| References and footnotes | |
Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was a British author and scriptwriter,[1] and "the most popular writer of children's books since Enid Blyton", according to Philip Howard, the literary editor of The Times.[2] He was raised by his Norwegian mother, who took him on annual trips to Norway, where she told him the stories of trolls and witches present in the dark Scandinavian fables. Dahl was influenced by the stories, and returned to many of the themes in his children's books.[3] His mother also nurtured a passion in the young Dahl for reading and literature.[4]
Dahl left the Repton School in Derby England in 1934, and he did not go to college. Instead, he took a job in East Africa to sell oil.[5] During this time World War II started and Dahl became a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Before engaging in active service he crashed in the Libyan desert and was seriously injured. After recovering, he joined his company and was responsible for shooting down several enemy aircraft, however ultimately effects of his injuries made him unfit to fly. He was posted to Washington as an assistant air attaché, ostensibly a diplomatic post, but which also included espionage and propaganda work.[6] In 1942 the writer C. S. Forester asked him to provide details of his experiences in North Africa which Forester hoped to use in an article in The Saturday Evening Post. Instead of the notes which Forester expected, Dahl sent a finished story for which he was paid $900. In 1943 Dahl wrote his first story for children titled: “The Gremlins.” This story was also intended for Walt Disney, who was interested in turning it into a film.[7] This was Dahl's first children's book published, though it was originally not written as such.[8] Dahl continued to write short stories, although these were all aimed at the adult market. Dahl worked for periodicals as a short story contributor. Other stories were sold to magazines and newspapers, and were later compiled into collections, the first of which was published in 1946.[9] Dahl began to make up bedtime stories for the children, and these formed the basis of several of his stories.[10][11] His first novel intentionally written for children, James and the Giant Peach, was published in 1961,[12] which was followed, along with others, by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), Fantastic Mr Fox (1970), Danny, the Champion of the World (1975), The BFG (1982) and Matilda in 1988.[13]
Dahl's first script was for a stage work, The Honeys, which appeared on Broadway in 1955. He followed this with a television script, "Lamb to the Slaughter", for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series. He also co-wrote screenplays for film, including for You Only Live Twice (1967) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).[14][15] In 1982 Dahl published the first of three editions of poems—all aimed at children. The following year he edited a book of ghost stories.[16] He also wrote several works of non-fiction, including three autobiographies, a cookery book, a safety leaflet for the British railways and a book on measles, which was about the death of his daughter Olivia from measles encephalitis.[16][17]
As at 2019, Dahl's works have been translated into 63 languages and have sold more than 200 million books worldwide.[18][19] Dahl was known as “The World’s No. 1 Story-teller” due to how his books celebrate nonsense, imagination, and creativity. It is because of this that his books are still popular with children.[20] His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008 The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".[21] He has been referred to by The Independent as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".[22] On his death in 1990, Howard considered him "one of the most widely read and influential writers of our generation".[2]
Novels
[edit]Short story collections
[edit]Scripts
[edit]Many of Dahl's works were used as the basis for films or television programmes. The following are where he is credited as the writer of the performed script.[11][29]
| Title[11][14][15][29] | Year of first publication or production |
First edition publisher, where relevant |
Media | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Honeys | 1955 | – | Stage work | Produced at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Lamb to the Slaughter" | 1958 | – | Television script | |
| Way Out: "William and Mary" | 1961 | – | Television script | Also introduced by Dahl on CBS |
| You Only Live Twice | 1967 | – | Film script | With Jack Bloom |
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | 1968 | – | Film script | With Ken Hughes |
| Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | 1971 | – | Film script | |
| The Night Digger | – | Film script | ||
| The BFG: Plays for Children | 1976 | Puffin Books, London | Stage work | |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A Play | Puffin Books, London | Stage work | ||
| James and the Giant Peach: A Play | 1982 | Puffin Books, London | Stage work | |
| Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator: A Play | 1984 | Allen & Unwin, London | Stage work | |
| Fantastic Mr Fox: A Play | 1987 | Puffin Books, London | Stage work |
Poems
[edit]| Title[14][30] | Year of first publication |
First edition publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Revolting Rhymes | 1982 | Jonathan Cape, (London) |
| Dirty Beasts | 1983 | Jonathan Cape, (London) |
| Rhyme Stew | 1989 | Jonathan Cape, (London) |
| Songs and Verse | 2005 | Jonathan Cape, (London) |
| Vile Verses | 2005 | Viking Juvenile, (New York) |
Books edited
[edit]| Title[16] | Year of first publication |
First edition publisher | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories | 1983 | Jonathan Cape, London | Adult; short story collection | Editor only |
Non-fiction
[edit]| Title[16][17][11] | Year of first publication |
First edition publisher | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boy: Tales of Childhood | 1984 | Jonathan Cape, London | Autobiography | |
| Going Solo | 1986 | Jonathan Cape, London | Autobiography | |
| Measles, a Dangerous Illness | 1988 | Sandwell Health Authority | Medical/Autobiographical | About the death of his daughter Olivia from measles encephalitis |
| Memories with Food at Gipsy House | 1991 | Viking Press, London | Cook book | With Felicity Dahl; reissued in softcover in 1996 as Roald Dahl's Cookbook |
| Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety | 1991 | British Railways Board, London | Safety booklet | |
| The Dahl Diary 1992 | 1991 | Puffin Books, London | Diary | |
| My Year | 1993 | Jonathan Cape, London | Autobiography | |
| The Roald Dahl Diary 1997 | 1996 | Puffin Books, London | Diary | |
| The Mildenhall Treasure | 1999 | Jonathan Cape, London | History | First published in book form in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More before release in 1999 as a single title edition |
Notes and references
[edit]Explanatory notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ "Obituary: Roald Dahl". The Times. 24 November 1990. p. 14.
- ^ a b Howard, Philip (24 November 1990). "Death silences Pied Piper of the macabre". The Times. p. 1.
- ^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Howard 2011.
- ^ "Roald Dahl's Subversive Storytelling". The New Yorker. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Conant 2008, p. xvii.
- ^ Royer, Sharon E. (1 September 1998). "Roald Dahl and Sociology 101". The ALAN Review. 26 (1). doi:10.21061/alan.v26i1.a.6.
- ^ "The Gremlins: Background". Roald Dahl.
- ^ Walker 2004, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 350–51.
- ^ a b c d "Roald Dahl". Contemporary Authors. Gale. Retrieved 5 February 2016. (subscription required)
- ^ Walker 2002, p. 12.
- ^ Book and Magazine Collector 2005, pp. 20–27.
- ^ a b c Walker 2002, p. 22–23.
- ^ a b "Roald Dahl". American Film Institute. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Roald Dahl, Published works" (PDF). Roald Dahl Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Sturrock 2010, pp. 627–28.
- ^ "Roald Dahl centenary: 'Tremendous things' promised for 2016". BBC. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Oxford University Press to capture Roald Dahl's naughtiest language for the first time: World Book Day!". Cardiff Times. 7 March 2019.
- ^ Spivey, Madeline (2020). "Roald Dahl and the Construction of Childhood: Writing the Child as Other". The Oswald Review.
- ^ "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". The Times. 5 January 2008. p. 11 (Section 3).
- ^ "Once upon a time, there was a man who liked to make up stories ..." The Independent. 12 December 2010.
- ^ Book and Magazine Collector 2005, pp. 17–30.
- ^ a b Grigsby 1994, p. 40.
- ^ a b Carrick 2002, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Book and Magazine Collector 2005, p. 18.
- ^ Dalby 1994, p. 15.
- ^ Book and Magazine Collector 2005, p. 22.
- ^ a b "Roald Dahl". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ Walker, Richard (2020). "Roald Dahl – A Guide To Collecting his First Editions". Richard's Left Bank. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
[Blog entry written in 2020, which updates material originally compiled by Walker in 2017.]
General and cited sources
[edit]- "Collecting Roald Dahl". The Book and Magazine Collector. No. 259. September 2005.
- Carrick, Robert (2002). "Roald Dahl". In Harris-Fain, Darren (ed.). Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Fantast and Science-Fiction Writers, 1918–1960. Detroit: Gale Research. ISBN 978-0-7876-5249-4.
- Conant, Jennet (2008). The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington. London: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-9458-4.
- Dalby, Richard (April 1994). "The Adult Fiction of Roald Dahl". The Book and Magazine Collector. No. 121.
- Grigsby, John L (1994). "Roald Dahl". In Baldwin, Dean (ed.). Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Short-Fiction Writers, 1945–1980. Detroit: Gale Research. ISBN 978-0-8103-5398-5.
- Howard, Philip (2011). "Dahl, Roald". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39827.
- Sturrock, Donald (2010). Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl. London: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-00-739706-8.
- Walker, Richard (April 2002). "Roald Dahl: A Collector's Guide to his First Editions". The Book and Magazine Collector. No. 217.
- Walker, Richard (March 2004). "The Magazine Stories of Roald Dahl". The Book and Magazine Collector. No. 240.