On September 13, 1916, Roald Dahl, a British fighter pilot, and writer was born in Cardiff, Wales. Roald Dahl was one of four children to Norwegian parents Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Dahl.
Roald Dahl faced hardship in his early school age years beginning at age three when his sister and father died within weeks apart. At eight years of age, he was caned by the school headmaster for putting a dead mouse in a jar. He then transferred to St. Peter's boarding school where he was unhappy that he wrote letters about his life and time in school to his mother every week. At 13, he moved to Repton School where he again witnessed hazing as cruelty and corporal punishment in English boarding schools.
After school, in 1934 he went on to work for an oil company, then during the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force to become a fighter pilot. His fighting pilot career ended in 1946 with the rank of squadron leader.
Roald Dahl's first published story was a Saturday Evening Post titled "Shot Down Over Libya" which chronicled his wartime experiences as a Royal Air Force pilot.
Roald Dahl's writing career as a children's book author became a reality after the release of "The Gremlins" in 1943. Later on, he went on to write more children-themed fictional story books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The BFG, The Twits, and George's Marvellous Medicine.
Roald Dahl's childhood life experiences are rooted in his storybooks. Critics described his books as "dark, brutal and vulgar" and "terrifying". And yet, his stories earned him one of The Times "greatest British writers since 1945" and hundreds of millions of books sold since his passing in 1990.
In a 2007 TV show, "Roald Dahl's Revolting Rule Book", Dahl's eight main formulas he went by in writing his children's books were:
1. Just add chocolate
2. Adults can be scary
3. Bad things happen
4. Revenge is sweet
5. Keep a wicked sense of humor
6. Pick perfect pictures
7. Films are fun...but books are better!
8. Food is fun!