Roald Dahl is one of twentieth century's most popular and famous writers of children's fiction. His books have been translated into dozens of languages, achieving high sales and recognition world-wide – from Europe and North America to Africa and Asia. Although he began his career as a writer of short stories for adults, it is for his anarchic and fairy tale-like children's stories that he is best known.
Born 13 September 1916 to Norwegian parents in Llandaff, Wales, Roald was the second boy of 7 siblings, two of whom from his father, Harald's, previous marriage. His father, a prosperous merchant based in Cardiff, died of pneumonia in 1920, just two months after Roald's sister Astri died of appendicitis, aged seven. Roald, …