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Roald Dahl is often remembered for the beloved books of our youth or their cinematic renditions. Terms such as “snozzberry” and “whizzpopper” come to mind, alongside vividly cruel adults and the resourceful children who outwit them. However, Dahl’s life was far more intricate and multifaceted than many realize.
10. A Troubled Early Life
Roald Dahl’s early years mirrored the dark tones of his stories. After losing his father and sister in quick succession, his mother was left to care for him and his five siblings. A severe car accident later left him with a life-altering injury, ripping his nose from his face and necessitating extensive reconstructive surgery.
In his autobiography Boy, Dahl recounts numerous harrowing events that feel as though they belong in his fictional works. One such tale involves his father, who, as a teenager, fell from a roof and fractured his arm. A drunken doctor misdiagnosed the injury as a dislocated shoulder and, with the help of two strong men, attempted to yank the arm back into place. The botched treatment led to such severe damage that Dahl’s father ultimately lost the arm.
In another episode, Dahl describes a confrontation with a witch-like candy shop owner. He and his friends sought revenge by placing a dead mouse in her jar of gobstoppers, as depicted in the video above. When she discovered their prank, she gleefully watched as they were caned, urging the headmaster to strike them harder. Later, Dahl attended a boarding school where he observed extreme harshness.
This phase of his life is thought to have shaped many of his children’s tales, which often explore themes of child abuse.
9. A Plane Crash That Sparked His Writing Career
Roald Dahl was employed by the Shell oil company in Africa when World War II broke out. He resigned and enlisted as a fighter pilot, joining the war effort.
Following his flight training, Dahl embarked on his first solo mission in 1940. Due to incorrect coordinates, he missed his squadron and ended up circling an empty desert until his fuel ran out, forcing an emergency landing. As he descended, the plane’s tail struck a boulder, causing his face to slam into the reflector-sight. The impact fractured his skull and crushed his nose, driving it into his head.
Miraculously, he escaped the blazing aircraft just as the fire triggered the machine-gun barrels to discharge their ammunition—fortunately, none struck him. He achieved this despite being blind and engulfed in flames.
Dahl’s injuries were critical. He spent months recovering in an Egyptian hospital, much of that time completely blind and plagued by excruciating headaches. He firmly believed the head injury altered his personality, transforming him from a corporate employee into a creative artist. Perhaps it did. During his recovery, he began writing, and one of his earliest published works started as a factual retelling of the crash.
8. He Later Participated in the Battle of Athens
After recuperating, Dahl rejoined his squadron, now stationed in Greece. With German forces allied with the Italians, the odds seemed dire for Dahl’s unit. Yet, on April 20, 1941, Dahl and his fellow pilots flew in formation over Athens to uplift morale, demonstrating to the city’s inhabitants that the British forces remained present.
This decision proved ill-advised. As Dahl’s squadron flew over Athens, nearly 200 German planes appeared unexpectedly, outnumbering them almost tenfold. Dahl recounted that the sheer number of enemy aircraft led to chaos, with some German planes colliding mid-air in the confusion.
Dahl vividly described the scene: “I recall watching our tight formation scatter and vanish amid the swarm of enemy planes. Everywhere I looked, German fighters zoomed toward me from all directions—above, behind, and head-on. I maneuvered my Hurricane as best I could, firing whenever an enemy plane crossed my sights. It was the most thrilling and breathless experience of my life.”
At least four members of the small squadron lost their lives during the battle.
7. He Became a Charismatic Spy
During the early stages of World War II, Britain was determined to draw the United States into the conflict. However, this was no simple task, as surveys revealed that 80% of Americans were against entering the war. To shift public sentiment, Churchill established the British Security Coordination (BSC), an organization dedicated to swaying American opinion.
Operating from the 35th floor of Rockefeller Center under the leadership of spymaster William Stephenson (codenamed Intrepid), the BSC sought to manipulate public perception by disseminating fabricated anti-German stories to media outlets across the country. A team of influential individuals was assembled to garner American backing, discredit war opponents, and expose Nazi sympathizers. Churchill dubbed this group “The Irregulars,” inspired by Sherlock Holmes’s network of informants.
Among the notable members of The Irregulars were Ian Fleming, Noel Coward, and Roald Dahl. During this period, Dahl embodied the role of a real-life James Bond, particularly in his use of charm to achieve his objectives. After persuading an older congresswoman to alter her stance on Britain and the war, Dahl famously remarked that he was “completely exhausted,” as she had “thoroughly worn him out over three intense nights.”
6. He Socialized With Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway’s role as a war correspondent has been noted before. While his primary task was to report on the war, he went beyond his duties by assembling a makeshift team of soldiers to conduct guerrilla operations.
Hemingway’s journey to Normandy, however, was influenced by two individuals—his wife and Roald Dahl. Concerned about Hemingway’s heavy drinking, his wife, Martha Gellhorn, approached Dahl to arrange Hemingway’s transfer to England, hoping it would curb his habits. Dahl had previously met Hemingway and Gellhorn in New York, where they had boxed, enjoyed champagne, and dined on caviar. Using his BSC connections, Dahl secured Hemingway a flight to London, where he was later commissioned by the RAF to document the war.
The extent of Dahl and Hemingway’s camaraderie remains unclear, as Dahl rarely spoke of their interactions. His admiration for Hemingway may have waned upon witnessing the author’s vanity. On one occasion, Dahl observed Hemingway meticulously applying hair growth formula to a bald spot while gazing into a mirror, making Dahl wait as he carefully massaged the solution into his scalp.
5. He Made ‘Gremlins’ Famous
The term “gremlins” originated as RAF slang to explain unexplained mechanical malfunctions. When a plane crashed without a clear cause, it was often attributed to “gremlins.” Roald Dahl was the first to bring the term into the mainstream with his debut children’s book The Gremlins, written during his recovery from a plane crash.
In Dahl’s tale, the Gremlins initially reside in a forest until the RAF destroys their habitat to build military facilities. Seeking revenge, they infiltrate planes and cause havoc mid-flight, until the protagonist persuades them to ally with the RAF against Hitler.
Dahl submitted the manuscript to the RAF for approval, and they passed it to Walt Disney, who saw potential for a film. However, the project never came to fruition due to various obstacles. Dahl’s demand for creative control, RAF interference, and the widespread use of the term “gremlins,” which Disney couldn’t trademark, all contributed to its cancellation. Additionally, the ongoing war further complicated matters.
Gremlins later made appearances in the Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” various Merrie Melodies cartoons, and the 1983 film of the same name. The extent of Dahl’s influence on these adaptations remains uncertain.
4. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino Have Brought Dahl’s Stories to Life
Roald Dahl is best known for his beloved children’s books, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The BFG. However, he also crafted a collection of dark, adult-oriented short stories. These tales were starkly different from his children’s works, featuring characters like Uncle Oswald, a libertine described as “the ultimate rogue, bon vivant, and womanizer of all time.”
Many of these darker narratives were adapted into a TV series reminiscent of Twilight Zone, titled Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. In the 1990s, some of these stories were reimagined as segments in the 1995 anthology film Four Rooms. The movie follows a bellhop (Tim Roth) as he navigates a chaotic New Year’s Eve, encountering a series of eccentric guests.
Each segment was helmed by a different director. For instance, “The Man From Hollywood,” directed by Quentin Tarantino (who also stars alongside Bruce Willis), adapts Dahl’s “The Man From The South.” Robert Rodriguez directed “Room 309,” featuring Antonio Banderas, based on “The Misbehavers.” The remaining segments were directed by Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell.
We won’t reveal the storylines, but if you enjoy anthology films and Roald Dahl’s work, this movie is a must-watch.
3. His Unpublished Works
Dahl penned most of his children’s books in a quaint gypsy caravan nestled at the end of his garden. After his passing in 1990, scholars have meticulously examined his archives, uncovering several intriguing details.
Dahl was an exceptionally detail-oriented writer, often revising his ideas repeatedly. For instance, in an early version of James and the Giant Peach, James escapes on a giant cherry instead. The initial draft of Matilda was much darker, concluding with Matilda’s death. Similarly, an early iteration of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was titled Charlie’s Chocolate Boy, referencing Charlie’s portrayal as a Black child. In this version, Charlie falls into a chocolate machine and becomes a decorative piece on Willy Wonka’s mantel.
Among Dahl’s works, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory underwent the most revisions. Initially, Dahl envisioned 15 children entering the factory, later reducing the number to six—one more than the final version. The sixth child, Miranda Mary Piker, meets her demise after falling into the Crunch Munchy Peanut Brittle Bar machine. This tragic fate likely led to her removal from the final draft, where all children survive, albeit in altered states.
2. Revival of Children’s Stories
As mentioned earlier, Dahl primarily wrote adult fiction early in his career; following Gremlins, there was a 20-year hiatus before he returned to children’s literature. Dahl attributed this shift to creating bedtime stories for his own kids, which eventually inspired James and the Giant Peach.
Dahl explained, “Finding a genuine short-story plot is incredibly challenging. With children to entertain and no new short-story ideas, I thought, why not write a children’s book?”
During this period, his career had hit a plateau. While he wrote extensively, much of his work involved adapting novels into screenplays, such as The Night Digger, a 1971 thriller about a sexually frustrated serial killer.
Hoping for greater success with younger readers, Dahl penned James and the Giant Peach in just six months. While American publishers readily accepted the book, British editors deemed it too grim and unsettling for children. Over seven years, Dahl approached at least 11 British publishers, all of whom rejected the manuscript.
Determined, Dahl took control by funding half the publishing costs to have the book printed in the Czech Republic and sold at a reduced price in the UK. It was a daring move that could have backfired, but it ultimately succeeded.
1. The Tragedy Involving His Son
In 1960, Roald Dahl’s family faced a devastating event in New York. While returning from nursery school, Dahl’s nanny, Susan Denson, was managing Theo, his four-month-old son, and the family dog when a taxi ran a red light and struck the baby carriage. The driver, panicking, mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brakes, sending Theo’s buggy flying 10 meters (40 feet) into the air. Theo collided with a bus, fracturing his skull.
Miraculously, Theo survived the accident but sustained severe injuries, leading to a neurological condition. He underwent multiple surgeries and was fitted with a drainage tube to manage excess fluid in his brain. However, the tube frequently malfunctioned, requiring repeated hospital visits whenever it became clogged.
Determined to solve the issue, Dahl collaborated with Stanley Wade, a model aircraft engine builder, and Dr. Till. Together, they spent a month developing the Wade-Dahl-Till cerebral shunt, a dual-shutter cylinder enabling fluid to flow in both directions. Although Theo had recovered by the time the device was tested, the shunt replaced older models and went on to save countless children’s lives worldwide.
