Provides an incisive, unauthorized biography of one of the world's most popular authors, discussing his youth, his early life as a wartime propagandist, his tormented marriage to actress Patricia Neal, his writing, and more. 15,000 first printing.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This revealing biography strips away the genial persona of popular children's book author Roald Dahl (1916-1990) to explore the personal demons that drove him. Born to Norwegian parents in Wales, Dahl, whose father and older sister both died when he was four, was a divided personality. An RAF fighter pilot, war hero, art collector, philanthropist and doting father, he was also, by his account, a wartime British spy who snooped on Americans in Washington, D.C., a bully, an anti-Semite, a vain, cantankerous alcoholic given to cruelty and outbursts. Dahl, who settled in New York City in the early 1950s, wrote Hollywood screenplays and stories for adults laced with black humor. His hectic marriage to actress Patricia Neal, according to Treglown, was marred by his envy of her success, too much liquor on both sides, and a series of misfortunes including her debilitating stroke, an infant son's skull fractures in a car accident, the death of one daughter at age 7 and the drug addiction of two teenage daughters. Treglown, former editor of the Times Literary Supplement , convincingly separates the man from the myth in a scrupulously researched portrait. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Treglown, a former editor of The Times Literary Supplement , has written an honest yet deferential biography of one of the most important children's authors ever ( Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ; James and the Giant Peach ) . Born in England to Norwegian parents, Dahl (1916-90) was a difficult and opinionated man whose life was riddled with tragedy, including the early deaths of his father and one of his daughters and the strokes of Patricia Neal, his wife of nearly 30 years. Although Dahl achieved success through his novels, stories, and screenplays, he found his niche in writing for children. His tales were sometimes criticized as too gruesome, yet they remain hugely popular with children because they unflinchingly confront childhood demons and fears. Treglown draws extensively from interviews with Dahl's family and a wealth of correspondence. This excellent portrait of one of modern literature's most creative minds is highly recommended.
- Diane Gardner Premo, SILS, SUNY-Buffalo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Diane Gardner Premo, SILS, SUNY-Buffalo
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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4 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
it sure helped,
By marie (New York City, ny usa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Roald Dahl: A Biography (Paperback)
this biograhpy helped me learn more about this wonderful author, and see into the depths of Dahl's works.
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First Sentence:
DIPLOMATS OFTEN RECEIVE odd propositions, so on the face of things there was nothing unusually unusual about the contents of a letter sent to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1944, with the request that it should be passed on to the ambassador, then Lord Halifax. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
chocolate factory, magic finger, adult stories, gypsy caravan Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Gipsy House, Patricia Neal, Roald Dahl, United States, Great Missenden, Alfred Knopf, Charles Marsh, Matthew Smith, Random House, Going Solo, Uncle Oswald, Willy Wonka, Stephen Roxburgh, Valerie Eaton Griffith, Quentin Blake, Dirty Beasts, The Twits, Walt Disney, George's Marvellous Medicine, Ian Fleming, Kiss Kiss, Robert Gottlieb, Tom Maschler, Lillian Hellman New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
DIPLOMATS OFTEN RECEIVE odd propositions, so on the face of things there was nothing unusually unusual about the contents of a letter sent to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1944, with the request that it should be passed on to the ambassador, then Lord Halifax. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
chocolate factory, magic finger, adult stories, gypsy caravan Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Gipsy House, Patricia Neal, Roald Dahl, United States, Great Missenden, Alfred Knopf, Charles Marsh, Matthew Smith, Random House, Going Solo, Uncle Oswald, Willy Wonka, Stephen Roxburgh, Valerie Eaton Griffith, Quentin Blake, Dirty Beasts, The Twits, Walt Disney, George's Marvellous Medicine, Ian Fleming, Kiss Kiss, Robert Gottlieb, Tom Maschler, Lillian Hellman New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 81
books:
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6
books
cite this book:
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- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl on 21 pages
- Going Solo by Roald Dahl on 19 pages
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl on 14 pages
- Someone Like You by Roald Dahl on 14 pages
- Over to You: Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying by Roald Dahl on 10 pages
See all 81 books this book cites
- Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture) by Giselle Liza Anatol on page 115
- Granta 94 on the Road Again by Ian Jack in Front Matter
- V. S. Pritchett: A Working Life by Jeremy Treglown in Front Matter
- The Afterlife: Essays and Criticism by Penelope Fitzgerald on page 260
- Language and Control in Children's Literature by Murray Knowles in Back Matter
See all 6 books citing this book
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