From one of our finest contemporary biographers, a concise life of Roald Dahl – much-loved author and creator of numerous iconic literary characters.
Roald Dahl was one of the world's greatest storytellers. He conceived his vocation as one as intrepid as that of any explorer and, in his writing for children, he was able to tap into a child's viewpoint throughout his life. He crafted tales that were exotic in scenario, frequently invested with a moral, and filled with vibrant characters that endure in public imagination to the present day.
In this brand-new biography, Matthew Dennison re-evaluates the received narrative surrounding Dahl – that of school sporting hero, daredevil pilot, and wartime spy-turned-author – and examines surviving primary resources as well as Dahl's extensive literary output to tell the story of a man who identified as a rule-breaker, an iconoclast and a romantic, both insider and outsider, hero and child's friend.
'[Matthew Dennison] skilfully covers the facts, producing a vivid impression of this strange, shy, awkward figure. The result is a highly readable book' Literary Review, on Eternal Boy.
'Fascinating... Dennison's clever, searching account of her life shows the incredible fight she had to make herself into the kind of woman she wanted to be' The Times, on Over the Hills and Far Away.
'In this finely written book, Dennison has dug deep into the complex truths that underpin Kenneth Grahame' Sunday Times, on Eternal Boy.
'Finely written and dancingly quick' TLS, on Over the Hills and Far Away.
'Dennison writes with atmospheric detail' Herald, on Eternal Boy
