Who was Roald Dahl?
I know him as the writer of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Being a Johnny
Depp's fan I appreciate the movie created by Johnny Depp in couple with Tim Burton 
so badly and of course later I read most of Dahl's production.I didn't know anything of Dahl's private life, his character. Nothing.
Reading this book
of the former editor of the Times Literary Supplement Jeremy Treglown:
Roald Dahl a Biography published by Open Road Integrated Media every
reader will open a fascinating window in Roald Dahl's life discovering
myriads of anecdotes of an extraordinary, sometimes eccentric man.Treglown has been more than complete and exhaustive. He analyzed all Dahl's life with incredible cure, passion and love.
Dahl was a man, Treglown writes with the desire to return to childhood maybe because during his childhood he lost a lot of components of his family.
Not a premature writer at all, Dahl became successful after the 40s.
Oh yes, he wrote most of the time, but real success would have knocked at his door only lately.
His best and remarkable books: The Gremlins, George's Marvellous Medicine, The Witches, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with a first movie in 1971 and another one wanted by the couple Tim Burton and Johnny Depp in most recent times, 2005.
Roald Dahl was for sure a macho man. Very tall and handsome characteristics these ones of his dad. His parents were both Norwegians.
Dahl didn't always appear at his best with people. A friend of Dahl revealed at Treglown that it depended which side he wanted to let you show.
Born on Sept 13th 1916 his dad Harald died when he was still 4 years and other disgraces and lost interested his family so little Dahl started to being affectionate to his mom to him an icon of perfection if compared to all the rest of women of the world, classified by him "witches." Roald was called by his mother "The Apple". Being the little man of the house everyone after the departure of his dad waited a lot from him.
What kind of kid was Dahl? A toddler fascinated by birds, butterflies, and highly influenced by the rich traditions of Northern European Fairy-Tales, and in particular by witches.
Roald Dahl wasn't a great scholar although he loved reading. He was interested on authors with a certain masculinity in their writing as for example was Kipling.
Can we say the author of the book asks, that Dahl had a distorted personality and reticence about schoolboy homosexuality?
When in Repton Dahl assisted at various episodes and he didn't hesitate to report this behavior.
Bullism was a reality of a certain importance but Roald Dahl, tall and strong couldn't risk to be bullied by his companions.
Once at Repton Dahl felt melancholy for his mom, his dad. He also started at home a collection of birds' eggs.
Contradictions in Dahl are numerous. If he complained for the behavior of some schoolmates, at the same time he didn't hesitate to put sadistic and cruel nicknames at his oldest friends reports Treglown.
Young Dahl discovered a room that became his refugee and where he loved to spend his afternoon every Sunday. He also started to develop a big passion for photography and at school he played football, cricket. He was also a passionate of golf.
Because his votes were not excellent it was excluded to him Cambridge or Oxford. He found a work in a refinery and he drove a truck while at the same time he worked at London in the Shell's office.
Dahl found attraction for girls contemporaries like him but also, maybe because there weren't serious implications in this case, for married ladies.
His desires of visiting with Shell Africa accomplished and once returned his positions close to the ones of the colonialism.
Once published Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, some polemics involved the role of the Oompa-Loompa for this reason.
An old friend of Dahl introduced the future writer of Charlie at the beauty of flowers and in particulars orchids.
When the war started to be seriously real for express desires of Roald Dahl the family moved from Kent to Wales because Dahl thought maybe Kent could be bombarded.
Once in war his mom always in his thoughts and when he had a bad accident injuring back and nose, reconstructed, her mom wrote him eight letters waiting anxiously for his answer.
Once the war over he was introduced at the White House and Hollywood started to flirting with him.
The reason The Gremlins, inspired at the last Second World War Conflict.
Disney, apart Snow White, a big success of 1937 hadn't known big hits with Pinocchio and Fantasia, and they were searching for some novelties.
The Gremlins became a Disney Picture book published by Random House.
This first experience with a major like Disney meant to Dahl the beginning of his career as a writer although it was still unclear to him if he wanted to become a writer for children or adults.
Alfred Knop read Taste in 1952 published by The New Yorker and searched for him. Dahl in contact with him, more than pleasant to share with him his material. This one started to be published in various magazines.
Times passed by and in 1968 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a big success for the author and as we know a first movie as told before realized in 1971.
In 1980s Dahl reclaims paperback rights to six most important titles, starting a new collaboration with the Viking Penguin and the division of children's book created by Penguin, Puffin.
Dahl has had a lot of women but the most important ones two. He knew Pat Neal when still young although their relationship weird enough. The two will divorce in 1983 when Dahl 66 and Neal 56. Dahl in the while met another woman Felicity with which she was living an affair from various time.
Talking of competition and again relationship with other writers Roald Dahl didn't offer any kind of support at Salman Rushdie when he lived a terrible experience immediately after his book The satanic Verses released. This connection with Rushdie always cold.
Roald Dahl started to experiencing a strong back pain and later it was discovered leukemia.
The author said that he could have coped with death but he was sad because dying would have meant to live his family although according to him world wasn't all that great place where to live.
Dahl died on November 23 1990.
After his departure it was created a foundation helping literacy, neurology, hematology. In 1992 the foundation helped an illness still not very well-known: epilepsy. It was built a center, and donated a minibus for school with epileptic children.
Roald Dahl is this and much more reading this informative, great, stunning book written by Jeremy Treglown and I am more than sure that the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will reserve a lot of surprises to all his fans around the world as this book did with me.
Many thanks to netgalley.com and the publisher.
Anna Maria Polidori
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