Roald Dahl bibliography
![]() Dahl in 1954 |
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Releases | ||
---|---|---|
↙Novels | 19 | |
↙Collections | 13 | |
↙Poems | 3 | |
↙Scripts | 12 | |
↙Books edited | 1 | |
↙Non-fiction | 9 |
Roald Dahl (1916–1990) was a British author and scriptwriter,[1] and "the most popular writer of children's book since Enid Blyton", according to Philip Howard, the literary editor of The Times.[2] The death of an elder sister and his father within a few months when he was three gave his writing "a black savagery".[3] 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.[4] His mother also nurtured a passion in the young Dahl for reading and literature.[3]
During the Second World War Dahl was a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF) until he crashed in the Libyan desert; the subsequent injuries left 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.[5] 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. The work led to The Gremlins, a serialised story in Cosmopolitan about a mischievous and fictional RAF creature, the gremlin; the work was published as Dahl's first novel in 1943.[6] Dahl continued to write short stories, although these were all aimed at the adult market. They were sold to magazines and newspapers, and were later compiled into collections, the first of which was published in 1946.[7] Dahl began to make up bedtime stories for the children, and these formed the basis of several of his stories.[8][9] His first children's novel, James and the Giant Peach, was published in 1961,[10] 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.[11]
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).[12][13] 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.[14] 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.[14][15]
As at 2015, Dahl's works have been translated into 59 languages and have sold more than 200 million books worldwide.[16] 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".[17] He has been referred to by an anonymous writer for The Independent as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century"[18] On Dahl's death in 1990, Howard considered him "one of the most widely read and influential writers of our generation".[2]
Contents
Novels[edit]
Short story collections[edit]
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20161124053116im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Patricia_Neal_und_Roald_Dahl.jpg/170px-Patricia_Neal_und_Roald_Dahl.jpg)
Title[14][20][21][23] | Year of first publication | First edition publisher | Scope |
---|---|---|---|
Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying | 1946 | Reynal & Hitchcock, New York | Adult |
Someone Like You | 1953 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | Adult |
Kiss Kiss | 1960 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | Adult |
Twenty-Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl[b] | 1969 | Michael Joseph, London | Adult |
Switch Bitch | 1974 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | Adult |
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More | 1977 | Jonathan Cape, London | Adult |
The Best of Roald Dahl | 1978 | Vintage Books, New York | Adult |
Tales of the Unexpected | 1979 | Michael Joseph, London | Adult |
More Tales of the Unexpected | 1980 | Michael Joseph, London | Adult |
A Roald Dahl Selection: Nine Short Stories | 1980 | Longmans, London | Adult |
Two Fables | 1986 | Viking Press, London | Adult |
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life: The Country Stories of Roald Dahl | 1989 | Michael Joseph, London | Adult |
The Roald Dahl Treasury | 1997 | Jonathan Cape, London | Children |
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.[9][25]
Title[9][12][13][25] | 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 | 1971 | – | Film script | |
The BFG: Plays for Children | 1976 | Puffin Books, London | Stage work | |
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A Play | 1976 | 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]
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20161124053116im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/RoaldDahlgrave.jpg/170px-RoaldDahlgrave.jpg)
Title[9][12] | Year of first publication |
First edition publisher (All London) |
---|---|---|
Revolting Rhymes | 1982 | Jonathan Cape |
Dirty Beasts | 1984 | Farrer Strauss |
Rhyme Stew | 1989 | Jonathan Cape |
Books edited[edit]
Title[14] | 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[14][15][9] | Year of first publication |
First edition publisher | Scope | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boy – Tales of Childhood | 1984 | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York | 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]
Notes[edit]
References[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.
- ^ a b Howard 2011.
- ^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Conant 2008, p. xvii.
- ^ Dalby 1994, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Walker 2004, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Sturrock 2010, pp. 350–51.
- ^ a b c d e "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.
- ^ "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. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
Sources[edit]
- "Collecting Roald Dahl". The Book and Magazine Collector. Diamond Publishing Group (259). September 2005.
- Carrick, Robert (2002). "Roald Dahl". In Harris-Fain, Darren. 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. Diamond Publishing Group (121).
- Grigsby, John L (1994). "Roald Dahl". In Baldwin, Dean. Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Short-Fiction Writers, 1945–1980. Detroit: Gale Research. ISBN 978-0-8103-5398-5.
- Howard, Philip (2011). "Dahl, Roald (1916–1990)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39827. Retrieved 4 February 2016. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- 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. Diamond Publishing Group (217).
- Walker, Richard (March 2004). "The Magazine Stories of Roald Dahl". The Book and Magazine Collector. Diamond Publishing Group (240).