Talk:Roald Dahl

To-do list

Some things to mention:

• how he fell into writing by accident: his plane crashed, he was asked for rough notes so it could be turned into a (magazine?) article by a staff writer, and the editor told him he would use the story exactly as written
• his short stories for adults were the basis for the TV series tales of the unexpected.

And a great TV series it was, too! I used to be scared stiff (I was, like, 10 years old when it aired in Norway). I would love to see it come for a rerun now after all these years, or be released on DVD. :-) --Wernher 21:23, 7 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Anti-semitism

Is there any truth to the rumor I've heard (from reliable sources) that Dahl was rabidly anti-Semitic? I've wondered about him ever since I heard that, but I haven't found any mention of it online. Jwrosenzweig 20:08, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

There's an interesting article that mentions Dahl and this topic in the New Internationalist (http://www.newint.org/issue372/portrait-antisemite.htm)

I'm a little nervous about that article just because it didn't cite its damn source. I'm pretty sure that "Boy" has some instances of anti-semitic thinking that went over my head when I was younger, but I can't find my copy of the book right now - someone who does and is a fast reader might want to take a look. Tinderblast 10:39, 14 July 2005 (UTC)

There's a profile of Dahl in the New Yorker Magazine (http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/050711crat_atlarge) which cites James Treglown's unauthroised biography in 1994 as one source of these accusations. Elsewhere, Dahl is reported to have made anti-semitic comments to a journalist in 1983. Bulentyusuf 11:15, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

This is the quote from the New Yorker article mentioned above: "More than once, Dahl offered up anti-Semitic remarks; in 1983, he told a journalist that “there’s a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity . . . I mean there is always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason." (From The Candy Man by Margaret Talbot). --betakate 13:02, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

Birthday

Does anyone else think it's not that interesting that he shares a birthday with Milton Hershey? I didn't want to just change it myself. Xyzzyva 17:17, Aug 23, 2004 (UTC)

Unless there's reason to believe it influenced him to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and who knows, maybe it did?), I think it can be cut. Can anyone provide evidence that it made any impact on Dahl? Jwrosenzweig 17:56, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Interesting Trivia

I think it would unbalance the article to put this in now, but I know it's up for WP:CoTW, so perhaps it can be worked in once the article develops:

"Had it not been for letters - and their safe storage - we may never have found out that there really was a Willy Wonka who lived in Blue Hill, Nebraska. Nor that he wrote to Roald Dahl who, luckily, kept the letters. 'I really thought I had invented it [the name],' Dahl wrote, explaining that he had a boy-hood boomerang which he called a Skilly Wonka, which had inspired him. 'By changing two letters only, I arrived at Willy Wonka. This is the absolute truth, although I have so far told it to no one but you.' And now, us." [1] (para 8) --[[User:Bodnotbod|bodnotbod » .....TALKQuietly)]] 02:20, Sep 2, 2004 (UTC)

I believe there is a story in Boy which mention that Dahl used to receive free samples from Cadbury when he was in Repton. He said that this was his source of inspiration to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. ::--202.58.66.149 12:11, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)Alamount::

Over-revisions

If you look back at past versions of this page, it seems that half the page was edited out, including most of his biography. Can someone explain why? Can we put it back in? It seems to be all rather well written.--Theloniouszen 04:56, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Welsh or English?

Looking at the categories he is in, we can't make up our minds whether he was Welsh or English. I would consider him Welsh (Norwegian descent) by upbringing --MacRusgail 00:53, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

As he was born in Wales, I'd say he was Welsh/British. --Jenblower 20:24, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety, illustrated by Quentin Blake

In which category would the above book appear in, if worth mentioning? --Jamdav86 11:49, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

It is already listed under non-fiction. --mervyn 16:11, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

Doubts over some biographical details

Recently I saw a documentary on Dahl's life that cast doubt on certain details of his past, including (by his own admission) the air-crash story. The suggestion was that Dahl habitually reinvented his past, even in his own autobiography. I can't find any references to back this up, though, so I won't make any edits.