British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot Roald Dahl was a man of many talents who made his mark on the world.
|||Durban - Born on 13 September 1916, on Tuesday we commemorate 100 years of Roald Dahl.
A British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot, Roald Dahl was a man of many talents and a man who has made his mark on the world that we live in. To date, his books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Although Dahl is remembered for his beautifully written and endearing children's books, prior to becoming a writer, Dahl was a fighter pilot and a 'Flying Ace' at that. A 'Flying Ace' is a fighter pilot who has 5 confirmed enemy kills under his belt. Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a 'Flying Ace' and intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting Wing Commander. Due to medical reasons, Dahl was honourably discharged from duty after which he pursued the career that he is best known for as a writer and a novelist. His military service spanned from 1939 to 1946.
Many of Dahl's books proved to be so popular that they were adapted into cinematic works. 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'The BFG', 'Matilda' and 'James and the Giant Peach' to name but a few. One of the unique traits embodied by Dahl in his works was his use of spoonerisms, malapropisms and his intelligent and witty wordplay.
Lexicographer, Dr Susan Rennie, stated that Dahl built his new words on familiar sounds: “He didn't always explain what his words meant, but children can work them out because they often sound like a word they know, and he loved using onomatopoeia. For example, you know that something 'lickswishy' and 'delumptious' is good to eat, whereas something 'uckyslush' or 'rotsome' is definitely not! He also used sounds that children love to say, like 'squishous' and 'squizzle', or 'fizzlecrump' and 'fizzwiggler'.”
Dahl was regarded as one of the greatest children storytellers of the 20th Century and was named by The Times one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. He ranks amongst the world's best-selling fiction authors with sales estimated at over 250 million.
In a 2006 list for the 'Royal Society of Literature', Harry Potter creator, J. K. Rowling, named 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' as one of her top ten books every child should read. In 2012, 'Matilda' was ranked number 30 among all-time best children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal. The Top 100 included four books by Dahl, more than any other writer: 'Matilda', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'The Witches', and 'The BFG'.
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